Love Thy Neighbor in 2014 & Beyond

Thank you Lord for the blessings in the past year,

Help us to pay attention to you and may we hear,

May we hear your voice and obey your command,

Of loving our neighbors as ourselves, is your loving demand

What does it mean to love my neighbor as myself?

Empathy for others just like one has for oneself. 

And who is my neighbor after all?

Is it someone who looks like me or  it includes one and all?

She is the beggar on the street, he is drunkard in the bar,

Some we know, some are strangers, some close and some afar... 

Lord, help us to be content in what you gave,

And to share with our neighbor from what we have.

Without truly loving our neighbor, there will never be peace,

Without willingness to share, conflicts will never cease. 

Let this new year be of love and sharing,

Let your command on our lives have a lasting bearing. 

What a shame that we turned our neighbors into our foes,

In this new year, your divine love on our relationships you impose.

Lord, as you know, this world needs peace and reconciliation, 

Bless us with the miracle of love, let the human race experience elation!

We human beings give pain to our fellow humans,

To love one another, give us more reasons.

Grant us grace to share and care,

Forgive our inequities and helps us to be fair.

There is a reason for who we have as our neighbor,

Yes, there might be differences but similarities are greater.

Lord, help each one of us to remember, 

That my neighbor and I have the same creator.

Your 'greatest command', let us adhere. 

Let us love our neighbors in this new year!

Happy New Year and lots of love, my neighbors around the world!!!