Lord, I thank you that in your love you have taken from me all earthly riches, and that you now clothe and feed me through the kindness of others.
Lord, I thank you, that since you have taken from me the sight of my eyes, you serve me now with the eyes of others.
Lord, I thank you that since you have taken away the power of my hands and my heart, you serve me by the hands and hearts of others.
Lord, I pray for them. Reward them for it in your heavenly love, that they may faithfully serve and please you till they reach a happy end.”
St. Mechtilde of Magdeburg (c. 1210-1285)
Woodeene Koenig-Bricker in Prayers of the Saints (New York: HarperCollins, 1996) 80-81.