A Tree, a Prayer, and a Subtle Shift of Love

Every morning,

before my time of contemplative prayer,

I read a meditation.

Every morning,

after my time of contemplative prayer,

I pray the Peace Prayer.

This morning,

before the meditation,

I read the second greatest command.

This morning,

after my prayer,

I made a subtle shift.

In Richard Rohr’s meditation, he tells the story of St. Catherine’s Tree. The metaphor of Love as the trunk of a tree. Patience as the core of the trunk. Self-Knowledge as the roots. Discernment as the branches. The message is that Love cannot stand without patience, self-knowledge, and discernment.

As I considered this metaphor, I thought of one particular line of the Peace Prayer. The line that says we should seek not to be loved but to love. There seems to be conflicting messages if we are to also love our neighbors as ourselves. I wrestled with this paradox and settled on a solution that brought me some peace. So if I may be so bold, I propose a subtle shift in the Peace Prayer.

A shift from

Seek not to be loved, but to love.

to

Seek both to love and to be loved.

Read those words again. Notice the slight shift. This shift allows us to consider our own needs as well as the needs of our neighbors. We are told to build our house upon the Rock by loving God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And when WE are built up, we can help build up OTHERS. And that is the point. Loving our neighbors. Seeing our trees grow with a strong trunk, a supportive core, the nourishing roots, and the reaching branches. Love. Patience. Self-Knowledge. Discernment.

A tree.

A prayer.

A subtle shift of love.