Gift us with greater freedom and simplicity in coming to know ourselves as beloved children, loved unconditionally by the God from whom we have nothing to hide.
Fountain of Life, Flood of Forgiveness,
Overflowing Cup of Mercy,
we drink from you, O Holy One.
You make our dry hearts moist again,
bring us back to life, and stand us up in grace
Confidently and joyfully, we look forward to the day
when we will become all that God has intended for us.
To this end, the Holy Spirit has flooded our hearts in love.
If only we knew the gift we have been given.
O Spirit of Wisdom, teach us how to unfold.
You, who know us better than we know ourselves,
disclose us to ourselves.
Safely sheltered in you,
may we discover your merciful gaze
loving us in all those places
where we find it difficult to love ourselves.
O tender God, send us out to love others
from that place of mercy where you bathe us all.
We praise you and thank you for the gifts we can scarcely
understand and only barely imagine,
through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Excerpted from Lenten Longings – Year A: Let Yourself Be…, available from RENEW International