Dear God, bless us with your Spirit of Love , that we may through our words and deeds awaken that same Spirit of Love and Charity which we know lies in the soul of every person. Let the miracles of love break down ancient enmities and overcome ugly rumors and suspicions.
Bless us with your Spirit of Truth , that we may tear away the masks of pretense and theory and speculation, which now gloss reality with false faces in the minds and utterances of our media, our neighbors, our leaders, and ourselves.
Bless us with your Spirit of Peace , that we may bring calm where there is panic, patience where there is urgency, and hope where there is fear. Protect us from the incessant demands of those who are hurried or worried, and bring them, too, to a calming acceptance of setbacks, failures, unwelcome facts, and losses.
Bless us with your Spirit of Hope , that we may sketch alternatives to gloomy forecasts and dire predictions, and may bring fuller attention to opportunities for reconciliation and growth that always accompany conflict and danger. Let hope rather than fear be the shadow that the future casts across our present lives.
Bless us with your Spirit of Joy , that we may keep your presence shining in our faces, that our spirits may rebuke the glumness and foreboding of the news of the day, and that we may sing and rejoice, knowing the work of the Lord.
Bless us with your Spirit of Light , that our eyes may see and our ears may hear, and that we may shine upon the hill and be a candle to the darkness and a voice in the wilderness.
God bless America! - - - May these blessings fall upon us and our leaders, and on the rest of the world, too, so we may all learn to find security in a spirit of peace and community, of truth and reconciliation, rather than in force of arms.
Newton Garver was born in Buffalo NY, returning in 1981 to teach Philosophy at the University of Buffalo. There he rose through the ranks, becoming Distinguished Service Professor in 1991. At UB he chaired the Faculty Senate, published respectably, and traveled and lectured extensively. Now retired from active teaching, he lives nearby in a country house built by his grandparents, together with Anneliese Garver, his wife of 50 years. He continues to write and to give occasional lectures, but is more occupied with upkeep of the land and with various Quaker activities.
One cherished reminder from Wittgenstein: “ The edifice of your pride has to be dismantled. And that means frightful work .”