By your heaviness and fear
in Gethsemane,
comfort the oppressed
and those who are afraid
By your loneliness,
facing the Passion
while the Apostles slept,
comfort those who face evil alone
while the world sleeps.
By your persistent prayer,
in anguish of anticipation,
strengthen those
who shrink from the unknown.
By your humility,
taking the comfort of angels,
give us grace to help
and to be helped by one another,
and in one another
to comfort you, Jesus Christ.
Amen
– Caryll Houselander
For our Lenten series, we wanted to find a prayer which expressed the intimacy we’re all called to have with our Savior, while at the same time speaking to the truth that Lent is both an individual and a communal journey (exemplified in our theme for this Lent, “love your neighbor as yourself.” )
When I found this prayer attributed to Caryll Houselander, I was immediately drawn to it. (It helps, too, that we used one of Caryll’s prayers for Advent as well).
Many of you have asked for a copy of the prayer, so here it is 🙂 we want to offer it with one disclaimer, however: while many online, reputable resources attribute this prayer to Caryll (and while we are confident that it is hers based on these resources and the language is very much in line with the rest of her writing), we were unable to find the EXACT source of the prayer.
Caryll was known not simply for her published works, but also for her private writings and correspondence. This poem could have been found in one of those, we’re just not sure.
SO, listener sleuths, if anyone knows the exact writing/work this appeared in, we would love to add that to our social media and website. Please reach out and let us know 🙂 .
Thank you listeners. We hope you like the prayer as much as we do.
Blessings, Jules