Alan Titley, a columnist with the Irish Times newspaper, presented his readers recently with a prayer ‘for the seven billionth person’. It is a sort of wish list of beautiful prayers, and I will do my best to convey in English what Mr. Titley has given us in his original Irish:
May you come safely from the womb, because there are many who do not.
May you come safely from the cradle if you are a girl in India, or in China, because there are many girl children who will not.
May you survive the knife if you are a girl in those countries where it is considered a good thing to destroy your femininity.
May you be spared from hunger if your stomach is swollen with want rather than plenty.
May you have parents who will not abandon you.
May you have some small attribute that no-one else ever had.
[…]
May you see the sun every morning.
May you see the beauty [of nature] that not all can see.
[…]
There are many more deep and thoughtful prayers included in this quiet piece, and the whole is something that should be treasured and acknowledged.
