Prayer After Showing Kindness to a Stranger
O Lord, bless this meager work which I have done,
not out of the goodness of my heart
but out of obedience.
I am your humble servant,
reluctant often
to follow your commands.
Today I listened,
and I acted.
I did as much as I felt comfortable doing,
not all that you had called me to do.
Forgive me for my stopping short,
for my hesitation. Give me strength to do more next time.
Make me attentive for the next time.
For the beloved person I just interacted with,
bless their day,
multiply my small gift
for the sake of their abundance and well-being.
I cannot do enough, I did not do enough,
and it creates an ache in my bones.
May your overabundant love and grace create for that person
a shelter of providence.
Make of them your instrument of kindness and generosity.
Make of me your instrument of kindness and generosity.
May I not consider my resources my own.
May I not consider my time my own.
May I not consider this world, this city, this place my own.
May that person delight in being lifted up
as I rejoice in being brought low.
Transform my desire so that I do not seek my own enlargement
but the well-being and livelihood of others.
Already, from the briefest of encounters,
that person has made an impression on me.
May the burden of their presence on my heart
be a delight and a joy as I give thanks
for who they are, what little I know of them.
I commit them to your mercy and care.
And if I happen to meet them again,
may I show the same kindness that finds its source
not in my altruism but in your being,
that your love and glory may abound on the earth,
and in this most basic of human relationships.
In the name of the Father of lights who bestows every good gift,
in the name of the Son who gave himself for our sake,
in the name of the Holy Spirit who leads us to such encounters,
Amen.
This is beautiful.