SAINT PETER AND SAINT NEWMAN PRAY BIG - Homily for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Teach me, my Lord, to be sweet and gentle in all the events of life; in disappointments, in the thoughtlessness of others, in the insincerity of those I trusted, in the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied. Let me put myself aside to think of the happiness of others, to hide my little pains and heartaches, so that I may be the only one to suffer from them.  Teach me to profit by the suffering that comes across my path. Let me so use it that it may mellow me, not harden or embitter me; that it may make me patient, not irritable; that it may make me broad in my forgiveness, not narrow, haughty or overbearing. May no one be less good for having come within my influence. No one less pure, less true, less kind, less noble for having been a fellow‐traveler in our journey toward eternal life. As I go my rounds from one distraction to another let me whisper, from time to time, a word of love to You. May my life be lived in the supernatural, full of power for good, and strong in its purpose of sanctity. Dear Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance everywhere. Flood my soul with Your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so completely that my life may be only a radiance of Yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus. Saint John Henry Newman The Father Gilbert Prayer Book © 1965