The original texts used the metaphor of father for the Divine Presence. I use the metaphor of lover as expressed in the phrase “Beloved One.” If this prayer/reflection resonates with you, feel free to make it even more meaningful by using your preferred images and words: “God,” “Allah,” “Lord,” “Jesus,” “Holy One,” “Mother.” I trust that they all serve as different pathways leading up the same holy mountain or, to use another metaphor, different gateways leading inwards to our center, the deepest part of which we all share. For as Henri Nouwen so beautifully reminds us: “In the depths of my being, I meet my fellow humans with whom I share [all things].”
Be in my mind, Beloved One, when I wake, and shine on me throughout the day today. Let every minute be a time in which I dwell in You. And let me not forget my hourly thanksgiving that You have remained with me and will always be there to hear my call and answer me.
Beloved One, I give You all my thoughts today and ask that You give me Yours. I give You all my actions as well, that I may do Your will instead of seeking goals which cannot be obtained and wasting time with illusions. Be my guide today. May I be open to Your love, the tenderness of which I cannot fully comprehend but which is Your perfect gift to me.
As evening comes, let all my thoughts be still of You and of Your love, and let me sleep sure of my safety, certain of Your care, and happily aware that I am Your Beloved One.
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Be Just In My Heart
• Meeting (and Embodying) the Lover God
• The Soul’s Beloved
• Beloved and Antlered
• Sometimes I Wonder . . .
• Vessels of the Holy
• No Altar More Sacred
• To Be Held and to Hold
• An Erotic Encounter with the Divine
• Spirituality and the Gay Experience
• The Holy Pleasure of Intimacy
• The Many Manifestations of God’s Loving Embrace
Image: Paulo Pascoal (photographed by Francisco Martins).
Thank you for the beautiful post, Michael. Love you.
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So fine, Michael.
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