🙏 A Short Prayer

“My friends, ask joy from God. Be joyful as children, as birds in the sky. And let man’s sin not disturb you in your efforts, do not fear that it will dampen your endeavor and keep it from being fulfilled, do not say, ‘Sin is strong, impiety is strong, the bad environment is strong, and we are lonely and powerless, the bad environment will dampen us and keep our good endeavor from being fulfilled.’ Flee from such despondency, my children! There is only one salvation for you: take yourself up, and make yourself responsible for all the sins of men.”

— Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky

“Whoever does not believe in God will not believe in the people of God. But he who believes in the people of God will also see their holiness, even if he did not believe in it at all before.”

— Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky

O Lord, thank you for everything that you have given me!

You have given to me in abundance, but I live as though I were blind to any of it. In those moments when I but catch a glimpse of how tender Your love is I find myself shedding tears of joy! I become overwhelmed by how You have so gracefully, so softly, so meekly guided me towards You all these years of my life! You have always shown me Your love, even, and especially in those moments when I thought You did not exist. Your love is so tender and so quiet, that I can only catch a glimpse of it when I quiete myself and listen, and pray.

O Lord, I am in infinite debt to You! But do not let me despair for how little I can repay! Do not let me fall into sin, and dispel every thought of evil that enters my mind! Lord, what am I but the chief of sinners? I look around me and I see You working in all Your servants, Your love reaching even the darkest of places!

Help me to tirelessly to serve you, and take away all my despair and laziness! Fill me with a zeal towards You that I may work without ceasing and serve with honour and humilty!