My Life, My Light, My Strength

Retreat, Day Two

Beloved Lord, this is the second day of my Retreat.  If the first has not been so well spent as I should have wished , nor so silent as I had promised it should be.  I shall strive that today may be better.

I beg of Thee, true Life of my soul, to penetrate my heart with Thy light.  Let me feel Thy Presence.  Let me feel the need  I have of Thee.

Grant that things of the world may not have so great a hold on me,--that they may not blind me to the real value of life.

Although I am not worldly to any great extent,--although I receive Thee, sweet Lord, quite frequently in Holy Communion and am faithful to the requirements of the Church,--although I see nothing in my heart that startles or affrights me,--still I know for all that, my life, my  inner life, my  true life, the life that counts in Thy sight, may be very shallow, very shabby, empty of the things of real worth.

I realize, divine Master, that no matter how crowded with human affairs my days  may be ,--no matter how many social wheels I turn, unless I live a life of prayer, earnestly striving to grow daily better, more kind and more thoughtful of  others; unless I accept the difficulties of every day life with patience and carry my cross with a cheerful and loving heart; unless I do this, my life is of very little worth.

Teach me , beloved Strength of my soul, to have recourse to prayer in every event of life.  Let me feel the  need of the Blessed Sacrament.  When my heart is sad, or wounded,--or I am worried, disappointed, or perhaps chafing under some unkindness, draw me to Thee, tender Master.  Make me realize that at such times Thy strength alone can be of any help to me.

If my lips cannot utter a syllable, let me at least kneel in silence before Thee.

What need hast Thou, kind Light of my soul, what need hast Thou, that I should  tell  Thee that I suffer?  Thou knowest the pains hidden from all the world, the annoyances that I must bear alone, heartaches that checker my entire life, the endless chafing that robs life of its glow, and weighs heavily upon my untempered heart.

Teach me, beloved Lord, to profit by the suffering that comes across my path.  Let me so use it that it may mellow me, not harden and embitter me,-- that it may make me patient, not irritable,--broad in my forgiveness, not narrow, haughty, and overbearing.

Bless then this second day, dearest Master.  Grant that I may better understand myself and what Thou expectest of me.

Let my day be one of more serious thought and reflection,-- an opening out of a broader, more unselfish life, a life more in touch with Thine, sweet Lord, so that from now on every thought, word, and act may be rich in good to my own soul, may overflow into the souls of others and may give pleasure to my beloved King who is my Life, my Light, my Strength, and my everlasting Joy.