C L E A N

Cleanliness, our forefathers and mothers taught us, is next to godliness.

Let me be thankful then, to You God of Purity
for all things bright and clean.

For white starchy shirts and blouses
and snowy-soft bed sheets
which bear me to sleep each night,

For dishware and silverware
and sparkling crystal glassware
on snow-white tablecloths,

For the streets of Tokyo,
where no one drops trash,
and the spotless walkways
of Disney World,

For the peau de soie purity
of a bride's seed-pearled dress
and her bouquet of white roses,
and for the radiant joy
of a giggling baby fresh from his bath.

Lord, let me appreciate and give thanks
for all those who launder and vacuum
and sweep and scrub to give us
here on earth a tiny pristine foretaste
of the shining cloud towers of paradise
and its gleaming thoroughfares of sky.

But Lord, I am not worthy!
Please, forgive me, make me worthy, Lord!

Help me confess my darkest
night-black faults,
my tar-slick sins
and shameful shadowy self-deceptions.
Let me admit my neglect
and failures to act.

Let my corrupt thoughts
and the blackest outrages
be washed away in crystalline
Christ-blessed saving holy waters:
forgiven and forgotten forever.

Please, forgive all my moral downfalls, Lord!
Then, I beg You, my strong Savior,
please vest my soul in the spotless garment of salvation. Let me kneel,
released from sin, and reverent
before Your shining throne,
in Your loving forgiveness,
Light of the World,
God of Love and Miracles.

This I pray to You,
God of All Purity . . . and Cleanliness.

Amen

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