“Rooted and grounded in love, may you be filled with the fullness of God.”
This beautiful blessing from Paul to the community of Ephesus is a reminder of the possibility of renewal. In times like these, we need to be asking God, daily, for the grace of God’s love to fill our parched souls and to give us strength and courage to be vessels of the love that gives life.
We cannot share what we do not have. Conversely, it is not difficult to share what we have in abundance. This is why our most critical daily work is to grow deeper roots in the soil of God’s love. When we do not feel it, we ask for the grace to feel and know its reality pulsing through us. Connecting with something more than ourselves, especially with the beauty of nature, can draw us into a space of deeper gratitude and connection with the source of life.
The simple prayer inspired by the life of St. Francis,
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy
reminds that there are alternatives to the hatred, doubt, sadness, despair, and darkness that we see around us. Love finds ways. Love creates ways.
When we ourselves are plagued by doubt about God’s goodness, we need only remind ourselves of the ways that we have known God throughout our lives and ask for the grace to know God’s boundless affection for us. The abundance of that love will help us to know our place in the larger world and will give us the profound purpose of sharing love with those around us.
Where do you experience God’s presence in the world? How can you grow toward the communion that God has embedded in creation?