Iona Prayer
This is a prayer from Kathy Galloway from The Iona Community :
Oh my heart's heart, in love and anger I turn to you,
for my soul cries out, 'where is justice,
when will the balance be redressed
for the fearful dreams of children who sleep with knives,
for the beaten women, and the shamed and helpless men?'
Where is justice?
For the agony of hunger is not to be set
against the insatiable appetites of jaded palates.
In the villages and the camps, the children lie bleeding,
and great wounds gape from their throats and sides.
In the city, there is no safety for them;
as the leaves blow through the night streets,
they are swept away, they disappear without trace
as if they had never been.
In the marketplace, weapons are bought and sold;
they change hands as easily as onions from a market woman,
and killing comes lightly everywhere.
The value of people is weighed out on crooked scales
and found wanting,
they are discarded like bruised apples
because they lack the appearance of perfection.
But you, my heart's heart, you are careful;
like a thrifty housewife, who sees no waste in anything,
you gather up that which has been cast aside,
knowing its sweetness,
and take it home with you.
And I see you in the camps and villages,
working late into the night,
showing patience in the midst of confusion,
reweaving the web of life.
I see you in the cities,
seated in a circle, making new plans,
drawing attention,
naming the forgotten names.
I will see you in the marketplace,
dressed in black,
with the carved face of an old woman saying 'no' to war,
and you will stand your ground,
and you will seem beautiful to me.
For you are my sanctuary and my light,
my firm ground when the earth cracks
under the weight of warring gods.
As a woman in mortal danger flees to her sisters
and finds refuge,
so you will comfort me, and dress my wounds with tenderness.
And when the flame of courage burns low in me,
your breath, as gentle as a sleeping child,
will stir the ashes of my heart.
Tech me to know your judgement as my friend,
that I may never be ashamed of justice,
or so proud that I flee from mercy.
For your love is never less than justice,
and your strength is tenderness.
You contain my soul's yearning,
and in your encompassing, I am free.