There are times when I need clarity.   During those times...I'll sit in an empty church.  In the still and tranquil quiet....I feel His presence and my load seems lighter.

Thomas Merton Prayer

  Feel free to to cut and paste and pray it yourself!

Thomas Merton's Prayer

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton, "Thoughts in Solitude"


Thomas Merton was one of the most influential Catholic authors of the 20th century. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, in Kentucky, Merton was an acclaimed Catholic spiritual writer, poet, author and social activist. Merton wrote over 60 books, scores of essays and reviews, and is the ongoing subject of many biographies. Merton was also a proponent of inter-religious dialogue, engaging in spiritual dialogues with the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh and D. T. Suzuki. His life and career were suddenly cut short at age 53, when he was electrocuted stepping out of his bath.

July 4th, 2012

Dear God,

Thank you for our armed forces and for those that have sacrificed or have given up their lives for our freedom.  We pray for our government leaders that they may uphold our religious freedoms....for these religious freedoms that we hold dear....
were the driving force in establishing this great nation of ours.
God bless the United States of America....a country of greatness.

Amen