March 12 Prayer

March 12 Prayer

“Love is the only force that can make things one
without destroying them.”
~Teilhard de Chardin

“Take words with you, and return to the Lord,’
Hosea 14:2-10

Returning is a motion
and a heartfelt emotion.
When we return to the Lord,
He is not angry with us.
When we have turned away from him,
from what is good and true in us, we clutch too
tightly to that which we can do for ourselves,
to provide security and feel safe.

When we return to the Lord,
“Say to him,
Take away all guilt, accept that which is good..”
‘It is Your work of grace in us that is good
Our God no longer is the work of our hands.’

Pause to consider where you rely upon your own self will.

Here is how our God responds when you return;

He loves you freely, heals your disloyalty,
Without any anger he removes all your guilt,
He tells us we will become fruitful, waters and
nourishes our roots so they will spread shoots
to give birth to new growth,
to become flourishing vines,
gardens lined with lush sage green olives trees.
Vines of sweet wine will become our fame
with a fragrance that travels throughout.

These are but a few descriptions of Love
When we return to the Lord we return to love

“He is the One and there is no other,
Love him with all your heart,
May it be a passionate heart,
Love him with all of your understanding,
May it come from the depths of your soul,
Love him with all of your strength,
May it be with your every thought, word and deed.
Love another in the same way as you love yourself.
Mk.12:30

Pray,
‘Oh Lord, we return to you with all of our hearts today
We rely upon your grace
to love ourselves as you freely do.

Help us to see this love in the most hurting,
difficult places and people we meet.

May we have this kind of love that sees
beyond the immediate surface and goes
deeply into the ground of our being
to spread out throughout the earth.

May we enter into your circle of love,
that gives and receives and never ends.

Amen
DB