Happy The Man
Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He who can call today his own:
He who, secure within, can say,
Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today.
Be fair or fous or rain or shine
The joys I have posessed, in spite of fate, are mine.
Not Heaven itself upon the past has power,
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour.
– John Dryden
Prayer to End Racism
Unfathomable the events of the weekend and that we as a society can still be fraught with such bias, hatefulness, and blatant prejudice. Perhaps rather than be accusatory, defamatory, and finger pointing, we should all look inward for the strength to make ourselves better rather than demean those around us. It is not pretty and does not speak well of our society and what we have become. It is a reflection on all of us and cannot be tolerated. From today's Gospel Reflection From Notre Dame, let's include this in our daily prayers:
God of love and justice, St. Paul proclaimed that 'there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.' May we be emboldened by your living Word to rid the world of the sin of discrimination in our attitudes and actions. Help us to seek the unity that Paul saw so clearly so that all forms of injustice will cease. Grant us the courage and determination to be prophets of peace. May we welcome one another as brothers and sisters, rooted in your everlasting love.
Amen.