Lord, You are my gratitude on rising,
Because I live, and move, and have my being.
My body endures, my limbs stir, my breath is deep and gentle,
My mind knows you wait for me with kindness, in the ordinariness of my life.
Lord, You are the delight I feel,
When I stretch out my muscles to the sky, and the tensions melt away.
That my ears can hear birds at my window, and the sounds of day,
The rain falling on rooftops, providing nourishment and water.
Lord, you are the candle I light within my little cell,
Shining on images of You and your beloved Mater, my Mater,
Gazing at my face in turn with mercy and tenderness,
Forgiving me for the struggles I know I still have.
Lord, you are in the food I am blessed to eat,
The cuddles of creation, the laughter and messages of friends.
You are in the prayers of those I am grateful to know and love,
And in every word I utter to You for them.
Lord, you are in the sunlight and gentle breeze upon my face,
In the finches who sing for me at dusk,
In the books I read, the music I listen to, and the miracle of singing.
You dance as the life-force of ants, and suspend the moon high above me.
Lord, you are love, peace, joy, wisdom, might, power, justice, and mercy.
You are fury, fire, whisper, cry, scream, tears, and silence.
You are tenderness, flowers, mountains, rocks, and streams.
You are the Great Artist and Delicate Dancer.
Lord, you are all of these things and more,
Magnified a hundred thousand fold, beyond anything my small imagination can muster,
Above and below, the heights and the depths,
The Son of God, the baby in a poor manger, the agony of a Man upon a Cross.
You are life in all its pain and glory,
Its loneliness and busyness, everywhere, in all things.
But most of all, You are here and now, in the world and my heart,
My Saviour and eternal Friend.
Image Credit: Salvator Mundi (detail of face) by Leonardo da Vinci / Public domain
Daughters of Divine Zeal Vocations 
