A Prayer of Forgiveness

"The Forgiving Father" by Sister Rigoberta

O God, forgive us for the faults which make us difficult to live with.
If we behave as if we were the only people for whom life is difficult;
If we behave as if we were far harder worked than anyone else;
If we behave as if we were the only people who were ever disappointed, or the only people who ever got a raw deal; 
If we are far too self-centered and far too full of self-pity: Forgive us, 0 God.
If we are too impatient to finish the work we have begun; 
If we are too impatient to listen to someone who wants to talk to us, or to give someone a helping hand; 
If we think that other people are fools, and make no attempt to conceal our contempt for them: Forgive us, 0 God.
If we too often rub people the wrong way;
If we take advantage of someone else's weakness to make us feel better or stronger;
If we spoil a good case by trying to ram it down someone's throat;
If we do things that get on people's nerves, and go on doing them, even when we are asked not to: Forgive us, 0 God.
Help us to take the selfishness and the ugliness out of life and to do better in the days to come.