Teach me to Listen

Teach me to listen, O God, to those nearest to me,my family, my friends, my co-workers.Help me to be aware that no matter what words I hear,the message is"Accept the person I am. Listen to me."

Teach me to listen, my caring God,to those far from me--the whisper of the hopeless.the plea of the forgotten,the cry of the anguished.

Teach me to listen, O God my Mother, to myself.Help me to be less afraidto trust the voice inside--in the deepest part of me

Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit,for your voice--in busyness and in boredom, in certainty and in doubt,in noise and in silence.

Teach me, Lord, to listen. Amen.