Samaritan Prayer

Lord my God,
You may have missed me today,
since I did not have time to kneel and pray.

I did pray, my Lord,
but not the usual prayer of my day.
Instead I prayed the prayer of the Samaritan.

You see, my Lord,
my neighbor was in need.
In my neighbor's need I saw You in need.
In my neighbor's plea for help,
I heard a call to prayer and could not pass by.

May this helping-prayer truly be my prayer this day.
For in the midst of the difficulty,
I felt Your Sacred Presence.
I tasted the flavor of communion in all that happened between us.

Edward Hays, Prayers for the Domestic Church
(Forest of Peace Books, 1979)