A Liturgy for a Fleeting Irritation:
I bring to you Lord, my momentary irritation,
that you might reveal the buried seed of it—not
in the words or actions of another person, but
in the withered and hypocritical expectations
of my own small heart. Uproot from this
impoverished soil all arrogance and insecurity that
would prompt me to dismiss or distain others,
judging them with a less generous measure that
I reckon when judging myself.
Prune away the tangled growth
of my own unjustified irritations, Jesus,
and graft to my heart instead your humility,
your compassion,
your patience,
your kindness,
That I might bear good fruit in keeping
with your grace.
Amen.
A liturgy from Every Moment Holy (Volume I) by Douglas Kaine McKelvey
