Names of God

 

"Is prayer not in fact, just an adventure wherein we try to name God?" -- Prévost in The Mother of God

"Prayer is not only the "lifting up of the mind and heart to God," but it is also the response to God within us, the discovery of God within us; it leads ultimately to the discovery and fulfillment of our own true being in God. Prayer is not just something that we do; it is a perspective-giving element that directs our whole life." -- from Thomas Merton’s Paradise Journey: Writings on Contemplation

Icon of the Virgin MaryMother Mary
sit at my side and teach me
how to name God
Show me names that are broad enough
to let God dwell in them

high enough
to let hope grow through them
deep enough
to include all of God's children
Teach me names that feed
not poison
names that heal
not crush
names that set captive hearts free

Teach me the names of God
that will reach those I love
and give them new life
                            Gilles Côté