某日午後
突然想起這篇文章
這是父親生前最愛的一篇禱文
猶記他捧讀麥克阿瑟傳時
那專注入神的模樣..

在年少的時候曾經背誦過這謂為世紀經典的英文禱詞
當時的我尚無法深刻體會為人父母的心思
只因它的文句優美 意境深遠
仍舊引人反覆咀嚼吟誦

在父親走了多年之後
突地思念起
同樣是某晴朗午日
與父親共讀的那一片刻...

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A Father’s Prayer
by General Douglas MacArthur (May 1952)

Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee….Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain.”