Stretch Us, O Lord

Merciful God,
These are stretching times.
Like a rubber band that expands to hold what is gathered in its circle,
we seem called to stretch ourselves beyond our normal limits:

We pray to stretch our vision to see beyond our own needs,
great as they may be at this time.
May we see more clearly the beauty
that surrounds us in all the marvelous creatures
—human, animal, and plant—
with whom we share Earth, our home.

We pray to stretch our heart space
to increase our capacity for compassion and respect
toward those from whom we would rather pull away.
May we open ourselves to those who are different from us
in their choices, values, and desires.

We pray to stretch our hearing
that we listen not only to those with whom we agree
but ever more carefully to those who disagree with us,
that we may learn from them what they hold dear.

We pray to stretch our voices to speak
on behalf of those, near and far,
who are silenced by tyranny, violence, or destitution.
We pray to expand our gratefulness
for all your creation, all of our family. Gather us in a circle of care
as we seek your grace in these stretching times.
Amen.

– Sister Aileen Donovan, OP (Dominican Sisters of Sparkill)