Welcome to A Time for God, the Saint Louis University Prayerbook. If you are a first time visitor you may wish to learn more about the prayerbook. We encourage you to find a prayer for your reflection and to submit your own.
Thank you for visiting.
If you walk toward Him,
He comes to you running.
None of you truly believes until he wishes for his
Brother what he wishes for himself.
Hadith or Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (c. 570-632)
Submitted by: John J. Mueller, S.J.
Prayer of St. Teresa of Ávila
In Spanish:
Nada te turbe,
nada te espante;
todo se pasa,
Dios no se muda.
La paciencia todo lo alcanza.
Quien a Dios tiene nada le falta
solo Dios basta.
In English:
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing distress you;
While all things fade away,
God is unchanging.
Patience overcomes everything.
With God in your heart,
Nothing is lacking.
God alone suffices.
*the English translation is a combination of other translations I have read and my own wording that I feel bests translates the Spanish meaning.
Submitted by: Gina Gailis (Madrid Campus)
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 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 that I have that desire in all
that I am doing.
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.
By: Thomas Merton
Submitted by Br. Patrick Cousins, SC
Dear God,
Help me be a good sport in this game of life. I don’t ask for an easy place in the lineup. Put me anywhere you need me. I only ask that I can give you 100 percent of everything I have. If all the hard drives seem to come my way, I thank you for the compliment. Help me remember that you never send a player more trouble than he can handle.
And, help me, Lord, to accept the bad breaks as part of the game. May I always play on the square, no matter what the others do. Help me study the Book so I’ll know the rules.
Finally, God, if the natural turn of events goes against me and I’m benched for sickness or old age, help me accept that as part of the game too. Keep me from whimpering that I was framed or that I got a raw deal. And when I finish the final inning, I ask for no laurels. All I want is to believe in my heart that I played as well as I could and that I didn’t let you down.
Written by: Richard Cardinal Cushing
submitted by Michael J. Kolnik
There is a moment between inhales and
Exhales, where time hangs.
In this moment, we are
One with nature and the world is at peace.
Wipe every fear from your mind
Because the heartbeat realigns now
With the flow of the wind, and you will find
The rustle of grass has never been so striking
Sending a chill down the spine
There is a moment between inhales and
Exhales, where time will stay
Just as a child’s swing reaches the zenith:
An incredible moment of delay
Between rising and falling
Time will hang so that Heaven may
Guide, protect, and smile down.
Until one day the breaths will cease,
Forever we will be in between
The inhales and exhales; forever at peace
Without time to bind
If you breathe with all of your heart, time will hang
And if you love with all of your heart, you’ll find
A heaven in the peace of a moment.
Heaven knows it is no coincidence
That the crests and troughs of a rosary line up perfectly
With our delicately place thumbs: woven like lace,
The beads held dearly by our fingers pour out a grace
Felt in our heart of hearts, and to you I say:
Heaven knows it is no coincidence,
For these hands were created to pray.
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By: Adrienne Renee Edson, Student
