Thought for Lent

Keep me, O God, from pettiness.
Let us be large in thought, word and deed.
Let us be done with fault-finding
and leave off self-seeking.
May we put away all pretence
and meet each other face to face
without self-pity and without prejudice.

May we never be hasty in judgment and always generous.
Let us take time for all things.
Make us grow calm, serene, gentle.
Teach us to put into action our better impulses,
and make us straight-forward and unafraid.
Grant that we may realize that it is the little things
in life that create differences;
that in the big things we are all as one.
And, O Lord God,   Let us not forget to be kind.