Containers of Divine Love

God of affection, devotion, passion, tenderness, and all forms of love, this day we thank you for the myriad of ways that we have been given a touch of your goodness. We thank you for your many generous gestures:

...love that draws us to friendship and fidelity,
...love that leads us to kindness and compassion,
...love that stirs in our flesh and dances in our bones,
...love that lures us toward the sacred and serene,
...love that calls us to new vision and growth,
...love that soothes our heartaches and gentles our pain,
...love that sees worth in each human being,
...love that believes in us and whispers with hope,
...love that sings in the seasons and sighs in the wind,
...love that taps on the door of forgiveness
...love that longs for peace among all humankind,
...love that surprises and fills us with awe,
...love that sings praise for the face of earth's beauty,
...love that offers the hand of warm welcome,
...love that respects those who won't come too near,
...love that urges us to take risks and have courage,
...love that goes out to those from afar,
...love that embraces the shadow in us,
...love that sheds the old skin and welcomes the new,
...love that ripens our souls for the final journey home.

Source of love, we offer thanks for how you are abiding in all of these forms of love. May the hearts we give and recieve remind us of you, the One Great Heart, holding us all in the tenderness of your love. Amen.

Joyce Rupp, from Out of the Ordinary
(Ave Maria Press, 2000)