One of my favorite hymns in the Polish Liturgy of the Hours (Breviary, Tuesday of the 3rd Week) resounded in the Church again today…
1 Jesus, thronged by those who suffer,
By the lame, the blind, the lepers,
Those whose bodies bear their weakness,
Souls that wander far astray;
2 Jesus, who befriended sinners,
Tax collectors and the prostitutes,
Who sought out the scorned, rejected,
Marred and stained by sin and guilt;
3 Jesus, with your heart aflame
And open wide to all who seek
To bear each day the cross they carry
Of their weakness and their pain;
4 Jesus, show your tender mercy
To us, descendants of those people,
Like them in our poverty,
Which cries out for your compassion.
5 Jesus, as the day is ending
And the unknown draws ever nearer,
Be for us a light that burns
Amid the darkness of this world.
6 Jesus, may our love give glory
To you, your Father, and the Spirit,
Our Consoler, through the humble
Homage of our prayer. Amen.
