Jonah contempprayingLast thoughts for a Saturday night.

This is a prayer that appeared earlier today on a blog site for women in ministry.  It’s a prayer for fragile bodies, something that all of us can relate to at some point or other.

(Before I give you the prayer, let me add this caveat: It’s written by another author, not me, so I have chosen not to change her words.  For my own prayer with God, I tend to avoid gendered language, so that my soul can imagine God as being somehow beyond, or inclusive of all gendered features, and none…. so I would pray “Holy One, in your love, hear our prayers.” )

For joints worn out by inflammatory processes, for immune systems that over-react,… or fail to protect us,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. (Holy One, in your love hear our prayers)
For viruses that invade, and infections that persist, for sudden collapses and heart-breaking prognoses,
Lord, in your mercy…
For cells dividing in ways we wish they wouldn’t, for drugs that heal but also make us sicker,
Lord, in your mercy…
For lives well-lived by faithful saints, with ends that came before we were ready,
Lord, in your mercy…
For our fragile bodies in a world that claims by dint of our effort we could find eternal youth,
Lord, in your mercy…
For our own families, our parents and children, our partners and relations, who will not, cannot, live forever,
Lord, in your mercy…
For hearts broken and souls suffering, for all those wondering how to offer comfort,
Lord, in your mercy…
For all who minister and deny our own fragility, and believe you prize our activity – O! Lord! – for our own mortal selves,
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.