A Prayer to Embrace Love, Empathy, and Compassion, and to Eschew Hatred, Invective, and Willful Ignorance

Loving God, anger is seductive

and our self-defense mechanisms lead us frequently

to ignore inconvenient facts and truths.

And, when people confront us,

sometimes we become rude and obnoxious.

Parts of the mass media feed off this tendency.

Yet reality is objective,

and no amount of repetition of mantras, doctrines, and dogmas

can change this fact.

Furthermore, nobody is entirely correct or incorrect all the time.

So may we have enough humility to recognize when we are objectively wrong

and others are objectively right.

May we embrace love, empathy, and compassion, seeking active virtue.

May our lives become prayer pleasing to you.

May we become Jesus to each other.

May we value people more than objects,

and the intangible more than the tangible.

May we reject all phobias and isms which denigrate people.

May we have what Martin Luther King, Jr., called a “revolution of values.”

In the name of the God.  Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 3, 2010 COMMON ERA

FEAST OF STS. JOANNA, MARY MAGDALENE, AND SALOME, WITNESSES TO THE RESURRECTION

Published Originally at GATHERED PRAYERS COLLECTED BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on August 3, 2010