A magnificent, beautiful prayer

Pope Francis quoted what he called a magnificent prayer in a recent address he made to the Vatican curia. I describe that prayer, beautiful, that captures our human condition before the tremendous mystery of God's providence.

It illustrates how God can write straight with crooked lines, making use of us as his most inadequate instrument for his providence. And yet, in spite of our limitations, not to mention, our mistakes and sins, God still counts on us, and in a certain sense, 'depends' on us.

It's a prayer that can inspire humility and trust in God's will and ways, virtues whose importance we can never over-emphasize. We have to learn to acknowledge our weaknesses and failures, which should not prevent us from doing what we ought to do.

Rather, our negatives should be another reason why we have to be as active as possible in carrying out all our duties. They are not supposed to be hindrances in our life, but rather enhancers, like the smelly fertilizers that make things grow faster.

So, instead of being saddened by these negatives, we ought to be thrilled by the mysterious workings of God's grace, full of goodness and mercy. Yes, we ought to do something about our weaknesses and limitations, try to avoid temptations, ask forgiveness for our sins and make up for them, but we have to realize that we need to grow more in virtues and in our life-long effort to identify ourselves as closely as possible with Christ.

I would like to quote the prayer here in toto in the hope that my readers can make use of it as well, for it is a good reminder of the reality we are in and of the basic dispositions we ought to have. It's a prayer that is full both of realism and hope.

The prayer is attributed to Blessed Oscar Arnulfo Romero, the newly beatified Salvadoran bishop who was assassinated in 1980 at age 62. The Wikipedia has the following biographical note about him"

"He spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture. In 1980, he was assassinated while offering Mass in the chapel of the Hospital of Divine Providence…He was hailed as a hero by supporters of liberation theology…he was not interested in liberation theology, but faithfully adhered to Catholic teachings on liberation, desiring a social revolution based on supernatural interior reform."

His episcopal motto was, "Sentire cum Ecclesia," (to think or feel with the Church) which reflected his fidelity with the Church as it has to tackle the changing and concrete challenges and problems of the times.

Here, we have to understand fidelity as a dynamic thing, not something static, a cold, unthinking adherence to rules that can be at odds with the reality of things. It's a fidelity that has its mind and heart in heaven while its feet are firmly rooted on the ground.

The prayer goes this way:

"Every now and then it helps us to take a step back and to see things from a distance. / The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is also beyond our visions. / In our lives, we manage to achieve only a small part of the marvelous plan that is God's work. / Nothing that we do is complete, which is to say that the Kingdom is greater than ourselves. / "No statement says everything that can be said. / No prayer completely expresses the faith. / No Creed brings perfection. / No pastoral visit solves every problem. / No program fully accomplishes the mission of the Church. / No goal or purpose ever reaches completion. /

"This is what it is about: We plant seeds that one day will grow. / We water seeds already planted, knowing that others will watch over them. / We lay the foundations of something that will develop. / We add the yeast which will multiply our possibilities. /

"We cannot do everything yet it is liberating to begin. / This gives us the strength to do something and to do it well. / It may remain incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way. / It is an opportunity for the grace of God to enter and to do the rest.

"It may be that we will never see its completion, but that is the difference between the master and the laborer. / We are laborers, not master builders, servants, not the Messiah. / We are prophets of a future that does not belong to us. / Amen.

I just find it a magnificent and beautiful prayer from a martyred witness of the faith.

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