An empty altar is each soul
Where the Eternal love
Would place a quenchless, living coal
From His own heart of love

Every soul is a temple
Where love plans to dwell
And each must make its choice
To be a heaven or hell

Christ is the living, purging flame
And you are the altar
Forth from the love of God
He came to seek your empty heart

My heart has accepted to offer
Without resentment but total submission
Freely I have received
Freely will I give in return

For the blessing received
For the favours received
For the love bestowed
For the love shared

In the family, I have received love
In the family, I wish to give in return
The gift of vocation in the church
The gift of a vocation to the church

My life is on a borrowed feather
In love, I have received wings
To fly to the poor, the rich and the abandoned
A symbol of God’s immeasurable love

Thank you, Lord, for your blessings
Thank you, Lord, for my sufferings
Thank you, Lord, for your love
You bless me forever

Prisca Onyinye Nwokorie is a  Roman Catholic Nun. She belongs to the religious order of “Oblates of St. Benedict Joseph Labre” in Italy. She is a graduate of the University of Bari where she obtained her Bachelor’s and Masters’ degrees in “Information and Communication Technologies for the Production of Software” and “Computer Science” respectively. Currently, she is carrying out research work on “E-learning for Developing Countries”.