Dear Lord,
Today,
I, your humble servant,
offer back to you what you have given,
my very precious life.
As I have entrusted to you my daily life’s activities,
I also entrust to you my own death,
knowing that with you, I would be in eternity.
I have enjoyed so much my life,
in fact, to the fullest.
I have tasted the last dreg of the bitter cup,
hampered by so many trials,
yet, triumphant in surmounting them.
With you, I became fully of my own,
my feelings and senses are geared towards others.
You have used me,
in spite of my sinfulness and greediness,
thinking that I could do things better myself.
But above all,
my life is so blessed with your presence.
Your initiative of intimacy with me is more than enough
Therefore, I offer my life back to you.
and nothing is precious
than being called to be a partaker of you.
My life became a source of life too
because you have used me.
Therefore, there is nothing for my own credit.
This is all because of you.
Lord, if one day I will die,
I am happy to face you and receive your judgment.
It is to you my noble judge
that I do not have to wait for a verdict,
for you know even the inner recesses of my heart.
Death is an encounter with you
and I long to receive it.
This is your mission and you have made my own life a mission too.
In Death there is my mission.
Give me a happy and meaningful DEATH.
(Raul Baluma Tabaranza)
Comboni Missionary
