SOURCE OF ALL BLESSINGS,
you bless us with healing
hands — hands of mothers and
lovers, of doctors and nurses, and
our own hands that are more gifted
with healing power than we know.
May I be alert to this gift and use
this power today whenever my
hands touch other human beings,
the fur of animals, or the slender
stem of flowers.
Sense how it feels to honor the healing touch of those who have comforted, tended to, or cared for you throughout your life. When we appreciate the gift and power of healing hands, we open to imbuing our own touch with intention, care, and gratitude.
“May this patchwork quilt of blessings help to sharpen your taste for the gift of life in its innumerable facets,” Br. David writes. “May you grow ever more blessed, ever more able to bless.”
Should you be inspired, please leave a reflection below…
Enjoy the full eight-day Summer Blessings II practice series.
Br. David Steindl-Rast
Thank you so much for this. Thank you for the invitation to think back, honor, appreciate all the healing and care throughout my life. And to be reminded as I go forward of this gift of how we can and do touch others. I pray that I can be more intentional and mindful.
I could write volumes on this blessing of healing hands, as the rehabilitation of multiple breaks of my left wrist is now entering month 5. Giving thanks to God for all that I am able to touch and feel.
As a temple cat climbed into my lap just before centering prayer, I was reminded of today’s blessing w the hands. We spent those 20 minutes in purring joyful blessing, in the Presence of quiet.
I will remember this tonight when I hug my precious Lily, and scratch her belly before I say good night.
Many decades ago, my first grade teacher patiently held my hand to cautiously guide me in learning cursive, a fast eroding artistic skill. Yet what my teacher did then was a gift and a blessing that lives on as I implement the skill with my own hands to write brief notes of comfort to the ill, an expression of appreciation to a son for a father’s day gift, or a word of encouragement to a friend in distress. Our God given hands are a blessing to those around us in so many gifted ways for they bring about in all of us interconnectedness, unity, peace of mind, comfort, a thankful heart, love, and hope.
How privileged I would feel to know my hands had somehow contributed to the healing of others. Indeed, it might be physical touch or the act of using my hands to prepare food for someone or write them a note of encouragement. May I never take for granted my ability to heal.
Your ability to heal and your commitment to your Heartspoken Life send waves of healing across the planet. Never doubt that Elizabeth!
May every touch, every use of our hands, be a blessing for all creation. I think of the song, “St. Theresa’s Prayer.” It reminds me that my eyes must be eyes of compassion, my feet must walk to do good, my hands are to be used to bless the world. It reminds me that we are all called, we are all chosen and our only job is willingness. Yes, as Br. David so eloquently says, “May you [we] grow ever more blessed, ever more able to bless.”
❤❤❤
Nicely said?
Beautiful!
I think of my mother and the time is our family would drive up to our house in New Hampshire for a weekend. I would often curl up in the front seat and put my head on her lap. She would place her hands gently on my head. I could feel the rhythmic rising and falling as she breathed, and would feel so safe and content.
What a lovely memory. I too have experienced this from my mother. Thank you for helping me to recall this cherished blessing.