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A place of reflection from the contemplative Christian tradition featuring guided meditations in the in the spirit of lectio divina and centering prayer. Best experienced with headphones.
>>>Welcome
Welcome to Breath of Love,
a weekly guided meditation
rooted in the sacred seasons of the Christian year.
This podcast is not a sermon or a commentary.
It is a gentle invitation
to move into Christ through
breath, awareness, and sacred listening.
Each week, we follow the rhythm
of the Revised Common Lectionary --
a shared cycle of readings
that opens us to
the unfolding story of God’s love.
You may find it fruitful to spend time
with the full readings inspiring these meditations.
The podcast episode notes can guide you toward them.
Let’s begin.
>>>Centering and Breath Prayer
Find yourself in a comfortable position…
or, if you are walking or moving in some other way,
let your breath become the steady rhythm that holds you right where you are.
Notice the ground beneath you… the way the earth carries your weight.
Notice the air around you… brushing skin, filling lungs, sustaining life.
Notice sound -- the near and the far, the subtle and the strong -- passing through this moment.
And if your attention drifts, that is welcome too.
You may simply return, again and again, to the gentle rising and falling of breath.
As we begin, let us take up a prayer of breath…
On the inhale, letting the words rest in your body:
“How long, O God…”
On the exhale, releasing into trust:
“…I will wait with you.”
Try it once more now…
Breathe in: How long, O God…
Breathe out: I will wait with you.
You may carry this prayer through our time together.
It can move with your breath as a steady companion --
anchoring you in trust, even in the midst of longing.
>>>Meditation 1 – Habakkuk 1:1–4, 2:1–4
The prophet cries out:
“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?”
It is the question of all who face suffering that seems unending.
And God replies: “There is still a vision… if it seems to tarry, wait for it. The righteous live by their faith.”
So we breathe with the prophet’s question and God’s reply.
Breathe in: How long, O God…
Breathe out: I will wait with you.
This breath may not erase the ache. But it holds us in faith as we wait together.
>>>Meditation 2 – Psalm 37:1–10 (BCP)
The psalm counsels:
“Do not fret yourself because of evildoers… Put your trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed on its riches.”
To “dwell in the land” is to sink roots where you are planted… to find nourishment in what God has already given… to let go of the anxious comparisons that steal peace.
Breath by breath, you can return to trust.
Breathe in: How long, O God…
Breathe out: I will wait with you.
A prayer that steadies you, even in a world that seems unsteady.
>>>Meditation 3 – 2 Timothy 1:1–14
Paul writes:
“Rekindle the gift of God that is within you… for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”
Rekindle. Fan into flame.
The ember in you is enough. It carries God’s Spirit.
Let each breath feed that flame.
Breathe in: How long, O God…
Breathe out: I will wait with you.
Even waiting can be active -- a tending of the Spirit’s fire in you, so it does not go out.
>>>Meditation 4 – Luke 17:5–10
The disciples plead: “Increase our faith!”
And Jesus replies: “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.”
Even a seed is enough. Even a little faith has power.
So you need not force or stretch or strain. You need only let the seed be planted in the soil of your heart.
And as you breathe…
Breathe in: How long, O God…
Breathe out: I will wait with you.
That is faith enough.
>>>Body Blessing
Now let us gather this time with a blessing for the body.
Breathing into your feet… may you feel the ground steady beneath you.
Breathing into your legs… may you know strength for the journey ahead.
Breathing into your belly… may you rest in the center of your being.
Breathing into your heart… may you know love flowing in and out.
Breathing into your shoulders… may you release what is too heavy to carry.
Breathing into your face… may you soften into peace.
And breathing into your whole body… may you feel yourself held, from crown to sole, in God’s presence.
Some of you may be continuing into the fullness of the day.
Others may be drifting into rest for the night.
Either way, may you release into the next moment with trust --
carried by the Spirit, rooted in Christ, enfolded in love.
>>>Farewell
Thank you for joining this circle
of listening and renewal
with Breath of Love.
These meditations trace
the turning of the Christian year,
calling us back -- again and again --
to the Presence that holds us.
If this time has nourished you,
please return next week
and perhaps share this podcast
with someone longing to breathe deeply
into sacred story.
Until then -- go gently
and walk in light --
with the breath of love.