Lord Teach Me to Be Generous

It is Brother Jim Boynton, SJ, that we have to thank for popularizing the Prayer for Generosity of St. Ignatius among the Jesuit high schools in the Detroit Province. It is the official prayer of the high school here in Dodoma (with the substitution of "Lord" with "God" it can even be said by Muslims).

Lord, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward,
save that of knowing that I do your will.

I graduated in 1981 from St. John's High School in Toledo (now St. John's Jesuit). Students in most Jesuit schools at that time received their diplomas without ever hearing that prayer -- and without even knowing, really, who St. Ignatius was. We graduates of St. John's were even clueless about who our alma mater's patron, St. John Berchmans, was. What a change in the experience of students at Jesuit schools these days.

I had a very pleasant moment of solidarity with the students of St. Ignatius College Enfield upon their departure. It occurred to me that they probably knew the prayer -- especially since their weeks here were the incarnation of it. How nice it was to share in that moment before they left Dodoma.

Having them among us was a great gift. Today they are in Morogoro reflecting on their experience -- and how appropriate that such reflection takes place on our patron's feast, 31 July.