A Prayer

Today was a busy day in our national office here in Milwaukee. It's the first Wednesday of the month, a day when about a dozen volunteers show up to help get out the mailing of the monthly leaflets. We began with Mass at 8:30, which today included the St. Blase Blessing of Throats. Then they went to work. Before breaking for lunch at noon we paused to pray the Angelus together. We added another prayer today, one that was printed in the latest issue of the Wisconsin Province of the Jesuits' periodical entitled "Jesuit Journeys." The reason we chose to pray this prayer is because it was written by one of our volunteers, Roland Starszak, who composed it after he and his wife went on a retreat at the Jesuit Retreat House in Oshkosh. Since we are the Apostleship of Prayer and it's a beautiful prayer, I thought I'd share it with everyone. Here it is:

God bless my spouse for being God's great blessing to me.
God bless my children with a true path to holiness.
God bless my grandchildren with a yearning to know Him.
God bless all my relatives with a life-long grace of happy relationships.
God bless all my friends, new and old. May they know the friendship of Christ.
God bless our civil and Church leaders to always aid in spreading the Kingdom.
God bless the world. May all peoples seek the reign of true peace.
God bless all my ancestors who in some way have affected my personhood.
God bless my parents who truly mirrored the relationship of the Father to His Son.
God bless me that I may know His will and always strive to accomplish it.