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We will now enter a time of meditation. I invite you to close your eyes if you wish and take a few deep breaths. M. T. Winter adapted this meditation from the writings of a 7th century Eastern Orthodox mystic named Abba Dorotheus. He draws an image of God’s love that gives us a different way to visualize the body of Christ.
Imagine a circle,
and in its midst
a center,
and from this center
rays extend;
each one,
each radius
radiates
from the center
of the circle.
The farther these radii
extend from the center,
the more they diverge,
the more remote
they become from one another.
On the other hand,
as they approach the center,
they converge
and come together.
Now imagine that this circle
is the world,
and the center of the circle
is God,
and the radii from center
to circumference,
from the innermost point
to the outer edge,
and from the outer edge
to the very center,
are the paths of life
of people.
When people withdraw
from the center,
from God,
they withdraw from one another,
and when they approach the center,
when they seek after God,
they come closer to one another,
Such is the circle of love.
If we do not love,
if we are distant from God,
we are distant from one another,
When we love God,
when we are one with God,
we are one in our love of each other.
The converse is also true.
The closer we are to each other,
the closer we are to God.
Such is the circle of love.
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