Lord, grant me the gift of becoming a child

and feeling I can rest on your lap

without feeling shame or fear,

since as we get older,

other interests make us forget

that confidence and affection

are vital to become sufficently grown up

to travel your paths.

Grant me the gift of becoming a child

to know how to look at others

with love and clarity,

since the passage of years

burdens our lives

with misgivings, fears and envies

which bend our backs

and strain our entrails.

Grant me the gift of becoming a child

to place my trust in others

and freely share

with generosity and rectitude

what I receive from you, every day, in order to be happy,

since egoism, greed and envious comparisons

blot out all the stars

and inflame our darkest vanities.

Grant me the gift of becoming a child,

take away from me all that prevents me reaching you

and keeps me away from those who are children

and who go about full of deprivation and need:

remove my diffidence, double-dealing and pride

that prevent me from losing my way amongst the poorest of the poor.

May my body and spirit recover

the suppleness of childhood to give service to others.

Make me a child again!

And if then I cannot reach you

or you can't keep me,

or I don't allow myself to be loved,

or I don't learn how to serve,

or I think I'm greater and better,

or I don't give myself to those whom you love,

turn, towards me, Lord

and speak to me as a mother talks to her baby.