Prayer for the World March 25, 2026

Contemplation and Transformation of the Heart

Introduction

In contemplative prayer, we quiet our minds with the intention to BE open to God who is Love, who transforms us.  As we enter into holy week on Palm Sunday, let us be guided by this quote from Rev. Thomas Keating:

God, out of his infinite mercy, made himself equal to us in the incarnation by identifying with the human condition.  God makes us equal to him by transforming us into his own unconditional love.

Song:  Breath of the One Life by Jan Navotka

https://youtu.be/HbKLMo1fqGk?si=jYDTgTNNcoWA-HLo

Breath of the One Life, Blow through me, Blow through me Breath of life.

...Grace of all that is, Hidden within, Renew the Face of the Earth.

….Conscious awareness, Stillness within.  Renew the Face of the Earth.

….Love and compassion, Life deep within, Renew the Face of the Earth.

Reading

We seek personal transformation as basic to the greater transformation of our Church, Nation and World.  And we try to practice skills that counteract the polarization, disrespect even hatred and violence that is so rampant today.  The following is a quote from a recent newsletter* from the Institute for Communal Contemplation and Dialogue.

In a recent outstanding OP-Ed piece New York Times columnist David Brooks tells us, “American society, at every economic level, is still plagued by enmity, distrust, isolation, willful misunderstanding, ungraciousness and just plain meanness.”  Then in what no doubt will be a surprising turn to some, he looks to Black theologian Howard Thurman and his “magnificent" book Jesus and the Disinherited for some advice.  It was 1949 when Thurman wrote: “When the networks of relationships in a society are broken and unjust, national transformation must flow from a tide of personal transformation.”

Contemplative Prayer:  In contemplative prayer, we quiet our minds with the intention to BE open to God who is Love, who transforms us.  Focus on your breath, breathing in and breathing out.  When distractions come, simply focus again on your breathing.  Trust that the Spirit is praying in you.  Trust that the Spirit will transform our hearts, our Church, our Nation, our World.

Reading

The newsletter goes on to make the observation that contemplative practice acts as a catalyst for personal transformation and it is estimated that literally millions of people around the world practice some type of meditation.

It seems then, that the foundation for the national transformation for which we all long is certainly being set down.  And yet, we wait.  And as we wait we struggle to remember that the heart of non-violent personal transformation is the art of letting go of the outcome.  And so we wait even longer, bearing at times more grief for the world than we think we can bear.  The words of the poet Jan Hirschfield are thus seared into our hearts: “Hope is the hardest part of love to carry.”

Contemplative Prayer:  We quiet our minds with intention to BE open to God who is Love, who transforms us, our Church, our Nation, our World.

Intercessory Prayer       Our response:  Loving God, transform our hearts.

For an end to all war, especially in Iran, Ukraine and Sudan. 

For greater compassion and justice for immigrants and refugees.

For families and all people who struggle to provide the basic necessities of life.

For an end to gun violence in homes, schools and on our streets, especially violence against children.

Song:  Breath of the One Life