I often pray to see clearly, to see people and things the way God sees them.
Christview Ministry Center's name is about learning to see Christ. But it's also true that if we learn to see Christ, we begin to see life differetly, to view life as Christ does.
I've shared this prayer before and have decided it is worth sharing each year at Lent. Maybe it will help you if you are also wanting to learn to see life differently.
(This came to me by way of a blogger friend at Pentimento,
who said it was written by Servant of God Merry del Val.)
O Jesus meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I,
That others may be esteemed more than I,
That in the opinion of the world, others may increase, and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. Amen.
From the desire of being esteemed,
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I,
That others may be esteemed more than I,
That in the opinion of the world, others may increase, and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. Amen.
2 comments:
You're right, it is difficult.
Sometimes it undergoes a double twist, and becomes a sort of self-aggrandising self-abasement. CS Lewis said something about it in Screwtape; that one could make the creature catch himself and admire himself for being so humble, and do this innumerable times so every movement towards genuine humility became a kind of self-regard 'look, I'm being humble!'. The worst[best] thing that could happen then was that he become aware and tired of how ridiculous this was and just go to bed!
Yes, Lucy, you are so right. In fact, part of me debated whether or not to share this, because I don't know that it's helpful to me for other people to know that I pray it. For that matter, to write about Lent at all can be tricky. But my hope is that the help it might give to someone else is worth the possibility of my self-aggrandizing (American spelling, my computer just reminded me!).....I do love Lewis for his down-to-earthness!
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