Lord In the concert of forces desiring to

Lord! In the concert of forces desiring to honor you, I, too, am Your servant. To me you assigned the duty of rewarding the sweat and sustaining the good as a neutral resource of acquisition. I pass among men frequently under a system of captivity. Many of them enslave me so that I may buy them illusions and lies, pleasures and consciences. I note my own task with greater clarity every time that I hear someone weeping on the road. However, I am nearly always a prisoner. . What I have I done, oh Lord, to live imprisoned in the dark enclosure of the chest as if I were an important corpse locked up in the casket of inertia? Teach those how keep me unused that I am the blood of work and progress, of charity and culture, and help them to release me. Nearly all of them try to be with You through prayer, in the temples which they embrace. Tell them in your sermon that I am the hope of the home without light. . . tell them that I can be the comfort of forgotten mothers, the support of companions fallen on evil days, or the milk due to small children with tortured stomach, the remedy for the sick, and the generous clean sheet of those who are approaching the tomb. . One day someone presented you with a humble coin destined for the public tax, and you said something to the effect that we should render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s. Many, however, do not perceive that you were referring to the tax and not to me and judging that your word condemned me, they condemned me to scorn. . Do not ignore, however, that I was born to do the best and whether I be clothed in gold or paper, you know, Lord that I, too, am from God. Meimei From the book THE WORLD OF THE SPIRIT By FRANCISCO C NDIDO XAVIER and WALDO VIEIRA 1