A Prayer for Veterans
You who left behind home and health,
loved ones and
leisure,
work and weekends,
school and security:
May the life you once knew welcome you back with out-stretched
arms;
You who offered yourself as ambassador for your country’s
masses:
May they return to you that which was once yours:
a dwelling place to sleep in safe solitude,
a job to afford a life of dignity
and sustainability,
health care to heal the wounds of battle,
community to give
and receive human affection;
You who developed lives and destroyed others:
May the memory of your good works bring you consolation
as the
rest fades quickly into history’s cloudy abyss;
You who returned home bruised and broken as
conflict abroad rages on:
May your scarred self bear witness to the foolishness of
war
for those unscathed citizens and commanders;
You who served the war on terror and, in return,
carried home terror in your heart:
May God’s great tenderness grant you everlasting peace,
in mind, body, and spirit.
Amen.
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