I’ve been thinking about this a lot. We live in a culture that shames us if we don’t have the body of an athlete in their 20’s. This is something that I truly believe is one of our most difficult and important “norms” to be overcome as we work to live in gratitude for the incredible beauty that is all around us and is us!
Each of us is so incredibly beautiful, magnificent, miraculous, no matter the shape, size, capabilities, or features of the body we are gifted with in this life. This prayer from Fr Richard Rohr’s blog really spoke to this.
Prayer of Thanks for Our Bodies
When we remember to pray for our physical bodies, it is usually because something has gone wrong. We are reminded of our human frailty by an ache, an accident, or a diagnosis. But I hope this week has stirred within us a greater sense of gratitude for our bodies and for the desires that hum through them. This poem and prayer is a psalm of praise for the miraculous nature of our physical existence, in relationship with ourselves, others, and the cosmos.
Thank you for the body that loves me.
My own body:
it tingles me with pleasure
and sends me pain as a warning;
it takes in food and air
and transforms them to life;
it reaches orgasmic bliss
and reveals depths of peace.
Thank you for the body that loves me.
My lover’s body:
it surrounds me with safe arms,
and senses my needs and joys;
it allows me vulnerability,
and enables my ecstasy;
it teaches me how to love
and touches me with love.
Thank you for the body that loves me.
My spiritual community’s body:
it embodies your presence
by embracing mine;
it incarnates your hope
by empowering prophets;
it inspires me with stories
and enchants me with mystery.
Thank you for the body that loves me.
The cosmic and mystical body:
it calls me to communion
with creatures and creation;
it manifests your glory
and mine as its child;
it upholds my feet
and heals my body.
Thank you for the body that loves me.
Experience a version of this practice through video and sound.
From Coming Out to God: Prayers for Lesbians and Gay Men, Their Families and Friends. ©1991 Chris R. Glaser. Used by permission of Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved.