The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins says that “the world is charged with the grandeur of God.” As we forge ahead with the work of government,
Let us keep in mind the blessings of summer recess- the places where we experienced God’s grandeur- perhaps
In sun and surf and sandy beaches,
In wind and rain and rainbow hues,
In midnight skies and Perseid Showers,
In places of worship and monuments to our past history.
Let us remember the people we encountered- family, friends, and kindly strangers who assisted us along the way.
God of elegance and beauty, help us to notice the grandeur of your creation in our daily lives. May we see your face in the colleagues we engage with, attending to our commitments, in the presence of your Spirit, which “broods over the bent world with bright wings.”─AMEN.
(Adapted from Gerard Manley Hopkins, Poems and Prose, God’s Grandeur, 1985)