A Prayer by Therese...

We who are not committed to you
Jesus, in either a consecrated celibacy or marriage
Are coming to renew our covenant with you

We are still on the road to which you have called us
But whose name you haven’t given us
We are carrying the poverty of not knowing where you are leading us

On this road, there is the pain of not being chosen
Not being loved, not being waited for, not being touched
There is the pain of not choosing, not loving, not waiting, not touching
We don’t belong - our house is not a home; we have nowhere to lay our head

Even though we have become impatient and depressed
When faced with the choice of others
Unhappy when faced with their efficiency, we still say ‘yes’ to our road

We believe that it is the road of our fecundity

The road we must take to grow in you

Because our hearts are poor and empty, they are available
We make them a place of welcome for our brothers
Because our hearts are poor and empty, they are wounded
We let the cry of our thirst rise to you

And we thank you, Lord
For the road of fecundity you have chosen for us.

From Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, Revised Edition, 1989