A Prayer for the New Year

Included in an e-mail from Catholic Relief Services --

There's a prayer on my lips that the world cannot hear.
     Lord, hear our prayer.
There's a prayer in my mind that my lips cannot speak.
     Lord, hear our prayer.
There's a prayer in my heart that my mind cannot form.
     Lord, hear our prayer.

You, who know our hearts' deepest longing,
You, who lit the flame of love within us,
You, who long to share of yourself.
     Lord, hear our prayer.

There's a sin on my soul that my heart cannot shed.
     Lord, hear our prayer.
There's a man in the night and my eyes looked away.
     Lord, hear our prayer.
There's a child shedding tears that my love couldn't stop.
     Lord, hear our prayer.

You, who know our hearts' deepest longing,
You, who lit the flame of love within us,
You, who long to share of yourself.
     Lord, hear our prayer.

There's a cry in a land that my feet have never walked.
     Lord, hear our prayer.
There is pain in a place that my hands cannot touch.
     Lord, hear our prayer.
There is arming for war and the innocent are threatened.
     Lord, hear our prayer.

You, who know our hearts' deepest longing,
You, who lit the flame of love within us,
You, who long to share of yourself.
     Lord, hear our prayer.

So I give you my feet that they may walk upon your pathways.
     Lord, hear our prayer.
And I give you my hands that you might touch the world around me.
     Lord, hear our prayer.
And I give you my tongue that it may sing your songs of gladness.
And I give you my mind that it may dream a dream of newness.
And I give you my soul that it may burn to see your justice.
And I give you my heart that it may burst upon creation.

You, who know our hearts' deepest longing,
You, who lit the flame of love within us,
You, who long to share of yourself.
     Lord, hear our prayer.