Exultation

There are times when we are suddenly aware of the beauty that surrounds us, and so filled with delight that we cannot help but sing praises to the Beloved.

Unfettered Joy

We are blessed to be witnesses to the glories of Creation. As the psalmist says, "Look up!" — look around you and let the beauty of the earth fill your soul.

Photo of a flower

A Prayer
of Joyful Praise

A Joyful Song of Gratitude

O Beloved, our heart’s Desire,
Your grandeur stretches across the universe
from life to life.

Your word is spoken by newborn creatures:
the calls of hunger,
the cries of sadness,
the gasps of surprise,
the gurgles of delight —
life proclaimed and affirmed.

Your glory shines forth from the heavens:
the radiant sun,
the luminous moon,
the countless stars glittering in the velvet nightsky —
displaying great beauty,
revealing hidden dangers,
lighting our way.

Your creations fill us with awe:
more numerous than all the grains of sand upon the shore,
more mysterious than the ocean depths,
teeming with life in unending variety.

forest stream

Constellations and solar systems,
dark stars and super novas,
quarks and quasars,
cats and camels,
robins and roses,
polar bears and pineapples,
ants and aspens and the aurora borealis.

And humans.

Oh good God,
what are we — compared to All That Is?
How incredible and implausible
that You pay us any mind.
Yet here we are:
privileged witnesses
to the daily miracles You unfold.

We see Your majesty,
we hear Your voice,
we feel Your power and Your gentle touch.

And Your love.

Oh good God,
You gave us ears to hear and eyes to see,
but most of all, You gave us hearts —
that we might taste a portion of the divine, all-flowing Love:

the Love that moves the stars and the planets;
the Love that created the cosmos
and fills it anew with life and light each day.

Beluga whale

Butterflies and bluebells and beluga whales,
possums and porcupines,
dolphins and daffodils,
owls and ostriches and little green apples…

Far beyond what we can imagine,
far greater than we know,
O Beloved, our heart’s desire,
Your glorious Spirit embraces all the universe.

Amen