The LORD is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made. Psalm 145:9
Dear Lord,
Help me keep my eyes on you. You are the incarnation of Divine Love, you are the expression of God’s infinite compassion, you are the visible manifestation of the Father’s holiness. You are beauty, goodness, gentleness, forgiveness, and mercy. In you all can be found. Outside of you, nothing can be found. Why should I look elsewhere or go elsewhere? You are the words of eternal life, you are the food and drink, you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. You are the light that shines in the darkness, the lamp on the lamp stand, the house on the hilltop. You are the perfect Icon of God. In and through you can see the Heavenly Father, and with you I can find my way to Him. O Holy One, Beautiful One, Glorious One, be my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer, my Guide, my Consoler, my Comforter, my Hope, my Joy, and my Peace. To you I want to give all that I am. Let me be generous, not stingy or hesitant. Let me give you all — all that I have, think, do, and feel. It is yours, O Lord. Please accept it and make it fully your own.
Amen.
Henry Nouwen (1932-1996) in A Cry for Mercy, prayer for 31 March in You Are the Beloved: Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living (New York: Convergent, 2017) 99.
I was exploring compassion in Nouwen’s writings and came across this prayer. When I read it, it touched me deeply.
Notice how it opens with a call for help. I could relate in the hard times in which we find ourselves, and help is what our compassionate Lord supplies.
We find in Him who is life and light, all the peace, hope, and joy we long for. Then notice that this is precisely what releases our generosity.
Only when we experience that we have everything we need in our relationship with our Lord, can we be generous. Our response is to give all we are and all we have.
Let us worship our Lord today by exhibiting compassionate generosity toward others. As He has touched us deeply, we get to bless others.