A Prayer for Friends

 I want to thank you, Gracious Lord,    
for the good friends you give me;    
they are for me a priceless bounty.
Thanks to them, friendship is neither an abstraction,    
nor a distant, almost impossible, dream.
I owe to your providence, Lord,    
the possibiltiy of counting on    
the constant help of friends.
Between me and them you have formed a solid bridge,    
which can withstand all threats of destruction.
The happiness with which you have blessed us    
enables us to enrich one another.
Lord, there was something astonishing,    
almost mysterious,    
in the way I met my friends;    
it was always outside the expected pattern.
But you alone know the reasons    
that drew us closer together.
This surprise and joy are refreshing,    
and I experience them anew    
at every step of my life.
Not all proved to be steadfast friends,    
but I have to thank you    
for the faithful ones.
I promise to do everything in my power    
to deserve this precious gift    
that you have reserved for me.
I ask you, Gracious Lord, to keep them safe in your hands,    
for they are yours above all.
Amen.

From the Catholic Prayer Community, Ithaca College, New York