To be eirenic is to be aimed at peace, oriented toward reconciliation. As a centering prayer I have adopted the prayer attributed to St. Frances, Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. So, that is why I call my website Eirenicole – a composite of eirenic and Nicole.
For Lent, we are using the book, The Art of Lent: A Painting a Day From Ash Wednesday to Easter, by Sister Wendy Beckett. This week, the theme is peace. Our meditation for today is entitled, “Conditional Peace,” and the focus of our attention will be on the painting, Allegory: Inconstancy, c.1490, by Giovanni Bellini. The image is included in the post for this podcast, and accompanies the places where this is posted. If you do not have access to the photo, but do have access to internet, you can google “Allegory: Inconstancy, c.1490, by Giovanni Bellini.”
So as you settle in your space, pay attention to your breathing.
Notice your breath and the way your stomach expands on the intake.
Pay attention as the breath is released, perhaps slowing your breath a bit.
Bring your senses to the awareness that God is present.
Notice the sense that God is always here, always loving.
Breathe in the ruah, breath of love of life that is the same spirit in us all.
As you breathe out, exhale a prayer of thanks.
Continue breathing in and out, allow the Spirit to cleans fear, to fill you with gratitude.
Pay attention to God’s invitation to be present.
Settle into the peace of Christ as you listen. Hear the mediation and notice what the spirit of God draws your attention to in this painting. What is Jesus speaking to you here, now?
“Bellini’s allegories are not always easy to interpret….”
On what is your sense of peace, well-being resting? A natural change has certainly disrupted our equilibrium, our daily rhythms. The threat of this still not well understood illness is rocking the boat of stability, our world precarious on the knee of certainty.
While our world is far from predictable, constantly changing, allow this time to be an invitation to rest. Consent to the silence, engage the very real presence of God, know the certainty that God is the ground of our being, Jesus is the one through whom we are made and remade, the Spirit is the Love and Life in every breath you take.
How is Jesus bringing you peace in this moment?
May the peace of Christ be with you, and today, may you walk at the pace of grace.
