Last week I ended my post with the closing, 'You are Love', instead of my usual, 'God Bless'. This week I want to explain that a bit and share a contemplative pray I have been enjoying.
The Beloved Prayer
Some time ago I was introduced to The Beloved Prayer by Arthur LeClair (link). I won't repeat his article here, but to summarize, it is a contemplative prayer that progresses from acknowledging that Jesus is beloved, then that we are also beloved, and finally that everyone is beloved.
I really like The Beloved Prayer, but it is set in somewhat of a guided meditation. Personally, I don't have time to sit quietly for thirty minutes and meditate. I prefer contemplative prayers that I can simply repeat over and over in my mind as I go through my day.
So, in using The Beloved Prayer as the framework, and the endless repeatability of the Jesus Prayer, I came to a simple prayer that I have been praying for a few weeks now. I don't have a great name for it, so I will simply call it the 'Love Prayer'.
The Love Prayer
Spoken unto Christ:
You are Love.
We are Love.
I am Love.
I have found this prayer to have a lot of versatility. I have prayed one line over and over before moving to the next, and I have prayed it all at once as it is written. Most importantly, I have found that there are times when what I need is to be reminded that I am Love, times I need to be reminded that others are Love, and times when I need to bask in the awareness that God is Love.
The New Closing
Using 'You are Love' as a closer is meant to be a little reminder of who God is and who we are. God is Love. We are made in the image of God (imago dei). Therefore, we are Love also.
To keep this truth at the forefront of our minds, I will now be ending my posts with the reminder that...
You are Love.