The Prayer of a Queen

Queen Marie wrote a prayer in December 1916, as Romania was enveloped by war, asking for the courage to do what was needed of her at that difficult and critical moment in Romanian history. During the war, she tended the sick and wounded, and she was a sign of hope to many. Her prayer shows a remarkable trust in Divine Providence, and is an example to us all as we seek to live out the particular callings that God has made on each of our lives.

The extract below is a prayer that we can all pray. As we begin the season of Lent, it has an extra resonance for us: in Lent, we seek to become more fully ourselves, more fully the people God has made us to be.

May Queen Marie’s prayer be an inspiration to us in this holy season!

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I lift up my heart to You, O God! Please hear my humble plea…

I cry to You, O my God! Give me strength to face any fate, conquer any fear, weather any storm.

Give me endless patience, O Lord, and the will to overcome every unworthy temptation; make me fearless, good and just, O Lord, so that I may stand firm in the midst of all misfortune. Give me a brave heart to bear all the pains I see and hear; a brave heart so that I do not lose courage at the end of a day of trouble; a heart big enough to love those whom no one loves, just enough never to judge hastily and merciful enough to forgive ‘seventy times seven’ (cf. Mt 18.21-22).

Give me the gift of comforting words, O Lord, and the gift of compassion and understanding, so that whenever I reach out, it will not be in vain…

And when my last hour comes, O Lord, let me be found without bitterness in my soul against anyone, and let no one think himself my enemy, so that before I come before You, the hands I raise in blessing may be as light as wings floating to the sky. And if someone will remember me on earth, O God, may they see me with a smile on my face, with a gift in my hand and the light of faith in my eyes, that faith which moves mountains.

Amen!