Meditation on Vision for Life Prayer

Meditation on Vision for Life Prayer
By Frank A Squitteri

For a long time I have prayed the Vision for Life Prayer each day, because it sums up the Christian Vision succinctly and reminds me of the virtues that I need to live the Christian Vision. Then one day I began to meditate on this Prayer. I have received much inspiration from this practice, and so I want to share my meditation with you in the hope that it will inspire you to create your own meditation. The prayer appears in boldface; my meditation in lightface:

VISION FOR LIFE PRAYER

My God, be the center of my life.
Be the center of my feelings, desires,
intentions, relationships,
energy, creativity.
Be the center Who brings order
out of the daily chaos
in my mind, heart and will.
Be the center Who empowers me
to cope with my daily dialectic
of positive heart wishes
and powerful death wishes.
Be the center Who calls me each day
out of my tomb
to new life like Lazarus.
Be the center Who awakens my heart
to the possibilities of love each day.

Let me see all through Your eyes.
Through the eyes of the Creator
who brought all into being
and saw that it was good.
Through the eyes of the Divine Artist
who brought all into being
in such magnificent beauty
and exquisite design.
Through the eyes of our Father
who loves all his creations
with unconditional love.
Through the eyes of Divine Compassion.
Lord, You are fully present to all Your creations
with infinite love and infinite attention.
You “receive” the presence
and giftedness of each of Your creations,
and You pour out Your life energies
to sustain each in being.

Let me see myself as beloved by You.
And that from all eternity.

Let me see others
as my sisters and my brothers.
Equally beloved by You
from all eternity.
We are Your unfinished creations.
We are Your creatures
in the process of becoming.
We are Your diamonds
in the rough.
We are Your Spirit-driven creations,
For each of whom You have a vision:
Christ incorporated us all into Himself
at the beginning of time,
and at the end of time
Christ will gather us all unto Himself.

Let me see life and creation
as Your gifts to me.
The gift of personhood.
I am a knowing, loving, willing being
infused with the Spirit
who empowers me to live a life
of faith, hope and love.
Life is beautiful.
Life is Your gift to me.
Creation too is Your gift to me.
You created out of Your own resources
a stage for me to live my life on,
an environment for me to discover
Your presence, beauty and wisdom.
Creation is beautiful.
Creation is Your gift to me.

Jesus, let me see You
as the model of compassion to others.
You gifted others with Your presence
and You affirmed their giftedness.
And You carry on Your life
of compassion and communion to others
through the likes of me.
A poor substitute!
So empower me to live like You,
fully present to all my sisters and brothers
with a caring heart
and an attentive mind.
Empower me to be sacrament
of peace, healing and forgiveness
to my sisters and brothers
as You were when on earth.
Empower me to be channels
of faith, hope and love
to my sisters and brothers
to awaken their faith, hope and love,
as You did

Let me see Your presence in community
as the source of Spirit-empowerment.
Let me see Your presence in community
as the source of my faith
in community prayer and action.
Risen Jesus, You sacramentalized community
and made it an occasion
for us to grow our souls
through one another
in union with the Spirit.
You empowered community
to be a force for compassion and enlightenment
in their environments.
Risen Jesus, help me to believe
that You still penetrate closed doors and rooms,
closed minds and hearts
to gift us with Your peace
and the Spirit’s powers.

Spirit of Jesus, let me see You
as my Higher Power
who guides and enlightens me.
You are my inner guide, my inner mentor.
I need Your guidance and mentoring
to discern God’s will for me
and the direction of my life
that God desires for me.

Let me see You as the source
of my courage to act and to lead,
Completing Christ’s mission.
Spirit of Jesus, put heart into me,
lest I become disheartened.
Due to my own weakness.
Or due to the weakness of my community
that I need so desperately to support me.

Let me see You as my power
to live the discipline of love.
Spirit of Jesus, Spirit of Love, Divine Eros,
let me see You as my power
to live the life vision
of the primacy of love.
Jesus manifested the radical love
of God in a radical way
and gave us a life vision of radical love,
the primacy of love.
Spirit of Love, Divine Eros,
help me to live Jesus’ life vision.
Spirit of Love, let me see You as my power
to live the discipline of love—
to love despite my feelings, my fatigue,
my differences with others,
and despite the arrogance and
self-centeredness of others.
Spirit of Love, let me see You as my power
to concentrate on pursuing Jesus’ life vision.
Keep it in my focus
through Your initiatives,
inspirations and invitations.
Spirit of Love, let me see You as my power
to patiently pursue Jesus’ life vision,
one act of love at a time. Amen