“A CREED TO LIVE BY” written by Brian Dyson
"Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others, It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Don’t set your goals by what other people feel important. Only you know what is best for you.
Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect, it is a fragile thread that binds us to each other.
Don’t be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Don’t dismiss your dreams. To be without dreams is to be without hope; to be without hope is to be without purpose.
Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been but also where you’re going. Life is not a race,
but a journey to be savoured each step of the way.
"Dearest Lord,
In humility, I come to you,
to ask you to help me accept myself as I am.
I often criticize myself so badly,
compare myself unfavourably to others,
and don't like what I see in the mirror.
Help me to see myself as you see me;
to accept myself, body and soul, just the way you made it.
I need not to live my life according to other people’s expectations,
but by your will, without pretence.
Help me to become great in Kindness, Love, Faith, Forgiveness,
Gratitude, Generosity, and Compassion, so that I can be at peace
with all that you have made.
Help me to be happy to be alive!"
This prayer was composed by Immaculée Ilibagiza, who was born and raised in a small village in Rwanda, On April 6 1994 the Rwandan President’s plane was shot down over the capital city of Kigali. This assassination of the Hutu president sparked months of massacre of Tutsi tribe members throughout the country. For the next 91 days, Immaculée and others were sheltered by a Pastor, while the genocide raged outside the home and throughout the country.
Prior to going to the pastor’s home, Immaculée’s father, a devout Catholic,
gave her a set of rosary beads. She began to pray the rosary as a way of drowning out the anger inside her, and the evil outside the house. It was that turning point towards God and away from hate that saved Immaculée.
After 91 days, Immaculée was finally liberated from her hiding place
only to face the horrific reality that her entire family had been brutally murdered, alongside nearly one million fellow Rwandans. After the genocide, Immaculée came face-to-face with the man who killed her mother and one of her brothers. After enduring months of physical, mental and spiritual suffering, Immaculée was still able to offer the unthinkable, telling the man, "I forgive you."
O Lord my God,
grant that when I am hurt
I may stand before thee for healing;
when self-willed may come to thee for self-noughting;
when worried lay my burden at thy feet
and find serenity and love.
George Appleton
