Become like me,
because I became like you,
sisters and brothers
I beg you.
You did not wrong me in any way.
And you know that because of a weakness
I preached the gospel to you at first.
And your trouble in my flesh
you did not despise or reject,
but you received me
as an angel of God,
as Christ Jesus.
So where is your blessing?
For I bear witness to you that
if it was possible
having dug out your eyes
you would have given them to me.
So then have I become your enemy speaking the truth to you?
They seek you eagerly
not nobly
and they want to exclude you
so you would seek them.
But it is a noble thing to be sought
nobly
at all times,
and not only
when I have been with you.
My children, I am suffering birth pains, again,
until Christ is formed in you all.
I have wished to be present with you until now
and to change my tone of voice,
because I am perplexed by you.
God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.