“Let us say a prayer,” they decided; “but what shall we pray for?”
“World peace,” said the elder sister.
“A prayer for an increase in vocations,” said the other.
“Get real,” said the brother, “let's pray for social justice for all.”
“We should write all of ideas down,” they shouted together. So they each opened their laptop computers, waited for the screens to flicker on. The elder sister began with world peace, typed it and looked at it on her screen, and said it aloud again.
“I have never known world peace,” she sighed, “except in the abstract in glorious books and sermons; but, of course, it would not do to pray for something without completely understanding the ramifications of what was being requested—anyone could do that.”
“I must ask Mother and Father a few questions,” the younger one said, “for I want know more about vocations and religious life before I start praying about it, or I may ask for something silly.”
“I shall pray for social justice, poverty, homelessness, about the pig, and the pony, and the white rabbit," said the brother; "but first I must think a bit. It would be impolite to say a prayer without thinking, or at least trying to understand what you’re praying for.”
Then the elder sister returned to talking about world peace again, to see how many ideas she were left out, for those, she thought, would do to go into her book.
The little one said to herself, "Really, it is no good asking for vocations until I can understand and talk about what I am asking about, so I must wait;" and while the brother was considering social justice, and homelessness, and poverty, he was distracted by a recently installed computer game.
And those prayers remained in their hearts and minds as they prayed for their parents, their grandparents, each other, their friends, their teachers, snow days, lost toys, and freshly baked, warm, homemade cookies.
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