In this meditation, I continue our exploration of the meditative prayer of Saint Francis, moving from the search for light towards the fruits that can emerge from that search: faith, hope and love.
We begin by deliberately choosing the time of meditation and settling into the stability of the body and breath. Returning to the prayer of Francis, we ask the Most High and glorious God to bring light to the darkness of our hearts, imagining that light filling our entire being.
We then allow the prayer to deepen through three great virtues: right faith, certain hope and perfect love.
Faith invites us to trust in the fundamental goodness at the heart of existence and in the grace of the present moment. Hope is not a naive belief that circumstances will automatically improve, but a deliberate choice that influences how we act and enables us to become bringers of hope to others. Love moves outward through compassion for ourselves, for others and for all that is.
The prayer ultimately becomes a challenge as well as a comfort: to choose faith, choose hope and choose love, and in doing so to become a place where light can enter the world.
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction: Faith, hope and love
00:39 – Opening bell
00:50 – Deliberately choosing meditation
01:19 – Settling into the breath
02:14 – Breathing out tension and breathing in peace
03:15 – Bring light to the darkness of my heart
03:40 – Filling the whole being with light
04:37 – Right faith, certain hope, perfect love
05:29 – The light of faith
06:18 – Choosing hope as a discipline
07:27 – Becoming bringers of hope
08:00 – Perfect love and compassion
08:55 – Knowing ourselves as beloved
09:04 – Returning to the prayer of Saint Francis
09:42 – Choosing faith, hope and love
10:18 – Becoming a place where light enters
10:30 – Pursuing truth, goodness and compassion
11:00 – Carrying the prayer into daily life
11:52 – Closing bell