Theme
Witnesses on weariness
Witnesses who kept praying when they had nothing left, and wrote down what it cost.
A few words
My God, I thank Thee who hast made the earth so bright; so full of splendour and of joy, beauty and light.
Let us stand fast in battle in the day of the Lord because the days of tribulation and hardship have come upon us.
In the secret of His presence how my soul delights to hide. Oh, how precious are the lessons which I learn at Jesus' side.
All in all the Mission is making progress, though in many places the fruit is still only hoped for, and in others barely visible. But what does that matter to us, provided we are good sowers: God will make it grow in his own time.
Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways; reclothe us in our rightful mind, in purer lives Thy service find, in deeper reverence, praise.
Surely Katonda will deliver me, but you will not see how he does it.
All 26 witnesses on weariness
- Adelaide Anne Procter Thanksgiving that remembers to give thanks for the shadow too.
- Angélique Arnauld Wanting to be where you are, because God wants it.
- Anne Brontë Ordinary courage, asked for quietly and with no one watching.
- Anne Steele Asking, being refused, and going on praying without bitterness.
- Boniface de Mayence Asking others to pray for you, and not keeping silent when one should speak.
- Christopher Smart Praise that goes on where the mind gives way.
- Chundra Lela The long search, and what it costs the body.
- Dorothy Pattison Prayer held inside a working day that leaves no time for it.
- Ellen Lakshmi Goreh The hidden place one withdraws to, which fits inside the heart.
- Frère Laurent de la Résurrection “Come to me, all you who are weary.” The rest he promises is not the end of work, but a presence within it. Brother Lawrence found it among the pots of his monastery kitchen: doing the smallest task for the love of God, and never doing it alone. The tiredness remains; the weight is shared.
- Gabriele Allegra The long hidden labor in service of the Word, offered day after day without seeing its end.
- Gerard Manley Hopkins Praise wrung from an exhausted body, and prayer that dares to complain.
- Jacques Berthieu The prayer of someone who sows without seeing anything come up.
- Jacques-Désiré Laval The freely accepted wearing-out of self in service of the poorest, and the trusting expectation of rest in God.
- Jean Cassien Careful transmission of hard-won wisdom, patience with the restless mind, a bridge built between traditions so nothing of value would be lost.
- Jean-Marie Vianney Perseverance in an obscure post, and the certainty that prayer is our happiness.
- John Greenleaf Whittier Silence asked for in the middle of one's own noise.
- Julien Nakaura The prayer of someone who gives his name when it would be wiser to keep quiet.
- Kaʻahumanu The prayer of someone carrying too heavy a load, who says so.
- Marguerite de Navarre Prayer turned into song, when fear or illness has taken up all the room.
- Matthias Mulumba Kalemba The patience of the body when there is nothing left to do but last.
- Paul Gerhardt The song that keeps standing when everything else falls.
- Philip Doddridge The inner life understood as something kept up or lost, and clear sight about what eats away a day.
- Synclétique d'Alexandrie The dry beginnings of prayer: smoke that stings the eyes before the fire catches.
- Théodore Stoudite Prayer held inside a timetable, like work that is not put off.
- Thérèse d’Avila Interiority as a place of indestructible peace.