Review of the Day
The Prayer of Loving Attention
Right in the midst of my everyday life, something often happens that touches me. When I am in “work mode,” I may only notice such moments briefly and then immediately move on to my tasks. The experience is lost. Yet in remembering, I reclaim it. I can enter the moment again and savor it.
The so-called "Prayer of Loving Attention" makes me sensitive to these special moments. I recommend praying it daily for a while — perhaps best in the evening, as a review of the day. The effect of this short prayer unfolds slowly… over time, you will move through life with greater attentiveness.
Audio guide
This one thing has become so clear and tangible to me as rarely before:
The world is so full of God.
From all the pores of things, God seems to stream toward us. And yet we are often blind.
We get stuck in beautiful moments and in painful ones alike, and do not live them through to their source, to the wellspring from which they flow out of God.
This applies to all beauty — and also to misery.
In everything, God desires encounter
and asks for our adoring, self-giving response.
Instruction
• I calm myself (for example by sensing my breath) and remind myself: God is present. I am here before God..
• I attentively and lovingly review my day. Scenes come to mind. Without judging or evaluating them, I look at them. I notice the tone of the memory (“How was it?”). I stay with it for a moment and then move on… This may happen in “fast-forward” and sometimes in “slow motion.” All thoughts, sensations, joys, and fears may arise again or newly appear..
• I thank God for all that was good and beautiful….
• I place what was heavy or burdensome before God and ask for release or healing….
• Closing prayer, for example: “You spread this day out before me… I leave everything with you, unfathomable mercy… I am yours. Amen.”