Prayer: Prayer of Substitution

I pray for you . . . . . 

That does not mean that from 

Time to time, I pronounce certain 

Words while thinking of you. 

It means that I feel responsible for 

You in my flesh and in my soul, 

That I carry you with me as a 

Mother carries her child; 

That, I wish to share, 

I wish to draw entirely upon 

Myself all the harm and all the 

Suffering that menaces you. 

And I offer to God all my darkness 

So that he may return it to you in Light.

(This prayer, on a little card, was handed out to parishioners 40-50 years ago by a young nun who gavea. reflection at the Paulist Center, Boston.)