The Universal Prayer

Lord, I believe in you: increase my faith.
I trust in you: strengthen my trust.
I love you: let me love you more and more.
I am sorry for my sins: deepen my sorrow.

I worship you as my first beginning,
I long for you as my last end,
I praise you as my constant helper,
and call on you as my loving protector.

Guide me by your wisdom,
correct me with your justice,
comfort me with your mercy,
protect me with your power.

I offer you, Lord, my thoughts: to be fixed on you;
my words: to have you for their theme;
my actions: to reflect my love for you;
my sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory.

I want to do what you ask of me:
in the way you ask,
for as long as you ask,
because you ask it.

Lord, enlighten my understanding,
strengthen my will,
purify my heart,
and make me holy.

Help me to repent of my past sins
and to resist temptation in the future.
Help me to rise above my human weaknesses
and to grow stronger as a Christian.

Let me love you, my Lord and my God,
and see myself as I really am:
a pilgrim in this world,
a Christian called to respect and love
all whose lives I touch,
those in authority over me
or those under my authority,
my friends and my enemies.

Help me to conquer anger with gentleness,
greed by generosity,
apathy by fervor.
Help me to forget myself
and reach out toward others.

Make me prudent in planning,
courageous in taking risks.
Make me patient in suffering,
unassuming in prosperity.

Keep me, Lord, attentive at prayer,
temperate in food and drink,
diligent in my work,
firm in my good intentions.

Let my conscience be clear,
my conduct without fault,
my speech blameless,
my life well-ordered.

Put me on guard against my human weaknesses.
Let me cherish your love for me,
keep your law,
and come at last to your salvation.

Teach me to realize that this world is passing,
that my true future is the happiness of heaven,
that life on earth is short,
and the life to come eternal.

Help me to prepare for death
with a proper fear of judgment,
but a greater trust in your goodness.
Lead me safely through death
to the endless joy of heaven.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

~ Attributed to Pope Clement XI (23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721)

A Marinduque fisherman begins his night fishing as the sun starts to set.

Marinduque, 17 April 2010

Time's up!

For all you Multiply users out there.

If you've been using Multiply as storage for your high resolution photos and deleting them from your hard disk with no other back-up, I suggest you start downloading them again now and back them up elsewhere.

Virtual tourist

I discovered City Daily Photo after I'd been a semi-regular reader of Paris Daily Photo for several months. I wasn't minding all the stuff outside the main blog, which is why I missed this wonderful website earlier.

And wonderful it is! It's a portal, a collection of blogs around the world. Each blogger's "mission": to post a photo of their city every day. Last I checked, there were more than 600 blogs registered (though probably less than 600 cities, since some cities are represented by more than one blogger).

The quality of the photos vary. There are professional photographers in there, and their photos are magnificent. The serious hobbyists' are fantastic too. Then there are the ordinary folks who just want to share about their corner of the world. And I've discovered that it is to this last group that I am usually attracted to.

I try to visit at least three places a day, whatever thumbnail catches my eye. Sometimes, it's because the photography is excellent, but more often than not, I visit—not the artistic shots or close-ups of flowers and pets—but the ones who actually show a piece of their city. I especially love the ones who bother telling stories, the story of the statue, house, bridge or ship—the stories of their cities. I've always loved stories.

I love this widget

The National Geographic Photo of the Day widget is one of my favorite widgets. I love National Geographic's photos! Click on INFO, and it tells you what the image is and who the photographer is. From the info panel, you can get to the Photo of the Day archive and even download a wallpaper of the image. Click on ENLARGE, and it brings you to the National Geographic website where a large image is displayed and the explanation is a bit longer.

This widget is available for web pages and the Mac Dashboard.