Prayer Cycle / Cultivating Seeds of Liberation / Day 7
Day 7: Beauty
Video, Audio and Written Guides for Morning and Evening Prayer
Morning Prayer
Video podcast coming in 2026
Audio podcast coming in June 2025
OPENING PRAYER
We open up to the splendor and beauty of this day. We stretch out our arms to welcome the various textures and colors we see that mirror the nuances of our inner beauty. May this day bring out our light so the beauty all around us can shimmer.
OPENING SONG: Beauty
Let the beauty you love be what you do.
Let the beauty you love be what you do.
Beauty, beauty. Beauty, beauty.
Beauty, beauty. Beauty, beauty.
FIRST READING: Sophfronia Scott
I feel closest to the earth after the rain. The ground is so soft, and as I walk it, I have this sense of coming home-like I want to lie down in the forest after a warm spring rain, only instead of lying on the earth, I have become the earth, alive and wet and teeming. Flowers could germinate beneath me and grow roots and tendrils through my body until they come from my skin and bloom and bloom and bloom through my mouth and from every square inch of my being. The feeling is exhilarating and devastating. Sublime.
SUNG PSALM OPENING
O Beauty, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. (Repeat)
PSALM 65
It is good to give thanks, for the boundless mercy
which renews us and makes us whole.
Happy are those who know this
and open themselves to the Light
and sing—
You make the sunrise and the sunset shout for joy.
You are the earth’s fertility.
Your law governs her cycles of snow, run-off, flood, and rain.
You crown the year with abundance
The wild lands are watered with dew.
The hills deck themselves with green.
The meadows adorn themselves with flocks,
The valleys gown themselves with grain.
They dance together.
They join in song.
SUNG DOXOLOGY
Glory to the Maker, Lover, and Keeper; as ago, in this breath, and will be ever. Amen, Amen.
SECOND READING: Cole Arthur Riley
We have found ourselves too busy for beauty. We spin our bodies into chaos with the habits and expectations of the dominating culture, giving and doing and working. . . We live depleted of that rest which is the only reliable gateway to wonder. . . My faith is held together by wonder—by every defiant commitment to presence and paying attention.
SILENT CONTEMPLATION
PRAYERS OF CONCERN
O God, in my striving to feel enough and prove my worth, I sometimes lose sight of the beauty that has always dwelled within me. Caught in the unending chase for productivity and perfection, I forget that I am already whole in your eyes. Open my heart to see the goodness you have planted in me, even in my flaws and frailty. Help me to nurture this inner beauty and, with your guidance, flourish in ways beyond measure.
SUNG RESPONSE
O God of Beauty, receive the prayers we offer.
O Light, it is very easy to fall into the illusions of shoulds and musts. My eyes get fooled by what the world labels as worthy and beautiful. Teach me to see myself and the world through your eyes. Draw me closer to nature so I can commune with you in the rain, the mud, the rough tree trunks, and the diverse colors of the flowers. Teach my eyes to see your beauty.
SUNG RESPONSE
O God of Beauty, receive the prayers we offer.
O Creator, life moves so quickly that I am swept away by its endless demands. My days are filled with distractions that pull my attention from the peace of your presence. Show me the path to alignment with your heart. Slow me down, ground me in stillness, and remind me that you are here. Open my eyes to the healing beauty you have woven into each moment.
SUNG RESPONSE
O God of Beauty, receive the prayers we offer.
Please add the prayers you are longing to express.
SUNG RESPONSE
O God of Beauty, receive the prayers we offer.
CLOSING SONG: Only Grace
Things are broken here; things are shared.
Things are carried here, hearts bow in prayer.
Chorus:
It is grace, only grace
That brings us here,
Holds us together here.
It is grace, only grace
That brings us here,
Holds us all together here,
All together here.
Things are dying here; things are torn.
Things are growing here and burdens borne.
Chorus
Bridge
Amazing grace, hear the sound.
Here is where hope is found.
CLOSING BLESSING
O Creator, your grace indeed holds us all together. It flows in and through us, in an infinite chain of creativity, joy, and beauty.
Awaken my innocence and wonder that I may celebrate with all creation. Open my senses to the beauty that surrounds me—the glow of the dawn, the rhythmic dance of the ocean’s waves, the tender song of birds at first light.
With every breath, draw me closer to you. Let every inhale be a path toward deeper intimacy and every exhale, a release of fear and doubt. I desire to join the sacred rhythm of life in your presence.
Infuse creativity and joy into the fabric of who I am. May they pour forth in all I do—a song of peace that heals, a work of love that inspires, a life that reflects your abundance. May my thoughts be a canvas for your dreams and my hands bring hearts together.
SUNG AMEN
Credits
All songs and texts used with permission. All rights reserved.
Opening Prayer written by Jo-ed Tome
Opening Song: Beauty by Betsey Beckman, arranged and performed by Simon de Voil and Alexa Sunshine Rose from the album Monk in the World: Songs for Contemplative Living
First Reading: Sophfronia Scott, The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton. Broadleaf Books (2021) page 60.
Sung Psalm Opening and Doxology: Richard Bruxvoort Colligan from the album Monk in the World: Songs for Contemplative Living
Psalm 65: Interpretation by Christine Robinson, musical setting and sung by Simon de Voil
Second Reading: Cole Arthur Riley, This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us. Convergent Books (2023) page 38-41.
Prayers of Concern written by Jo-ed Tome
Sung Response: Words by Abbey Dream Team. Music by Betsey Beckman. Arranged and performed by Alexa Sunshine Rose and Simon de Voil © 2025
Closing Song: Only Grace by The Many from the album Cultivating Seeds of Liberation: Songs of Justice and Joy. Words by Lenora Rand, Music by Hannah Rand © 2016 Mirasion Music (ASCAP)
Closing Blessing written by Jo-ed Tome
Prayers, readings, and blessings voiced by Claudia Love Mair and Jo-ed Tome. Audio engineering by Simon de Voil.
Please note: All of the songs and prayer responses are published on albums in the Abbey of the Arts collection unless otherwise noted. In addition, these songs & responses have accompanying gesture prayers and/or dances created by Betsey Beckman that can be found on the corresponding video collections. Audio and video recordings of the Prayer Cycles are available at AbbeyoftheArts.com.
Evening Prayer
Video podcast coming in 2026
Audio podcast coming in June 2025
OPENING PRAYER
Beautiful One, we bow our hearts and our heads in thanksgiving. There is still so much beauty in the world, even among that which remains brutal. Through this beauty, which is your beauty, you can save us, elevating us aesthetically and ethically. Let beauty lift us, urging us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, in Spirit and in truth. For we are the people of faith, hope, and the greatest of all, Love. We are your people, your beautiful people in your beautiful world. Restore us to our rightful shine. We love you. We glory in your Divine loveliness.
OPENING SONG: We are Weaving Our Lives
We are weaving our lives
We are weaving our hearts and minds
We are weaving the bright and dark threads of our journeys through
We are weaving our lives
We are weaving a blanket of light
We are weaving a basket to hold all that’s true
SUNG PSALM OPENING
O Beauty, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. (Repeat)
PSALM 104
I am awestruck, Holy One
at this beautiful and boundless universe—
gestated over eons with love and care.
Your creative intent envelopes the world like a cloak.
I see it shining in the heavens, hear it whispering
in the winds, feel it crackling in the fire.
For you energized the dust of the universe—
the galaxies, the stars, the planets,
right down to this jewel of an earth.
You birthed her like a golden babe
from the fires under your heart.
She cooled, wrapped herself in water and in air.
The waters receded, the mountains rose
Storms shaped and softened the landscape
and in time, she gave birth to life in her seas.
In the eons life evolved into myriad forms
each with its own niche in your scheme.
With Your love, She taught each its place, its work, its song.
And humankind—you birthed us too. Gave us
the world as our home and food–
bread to eat, wine to make our hearts glad, herbs for
healing, and oil to soothe our skin.
You gave us many songs, many powers, and put
a restlessness in our hearts
we could seek you always.
O Holy One, how manifold are your works
In your love and play you have birthed them all
and raised them up.
I will sing your songs all my days
and care for all you have created
and keep my heart ever open to your Love.
SUNG DOXOLOGY
Glory to the Maker, Lover, and Keeper; as ago, in this breath, and will be ever. Amen, Amen.
READING OF THE NIGHT: Makoto Fujimura
God is not just restoring us to Eden; God is creating through us a garden, an abundant city of God’s Kingdom. What we build, design, and depict on this side of eternity matters, because in some mysterious way those creations will become part of the future city of God.
SILENT CONTEMPLATION
CLOSING SONG: On the Wings of Grace
Gently I go, Softly I know.
Nothing to fear, spirit is here.
Love be my guide. Lift me, I’ll fly
Far from this place on the wings of grace.
Gently I go, softly I know
Nothing more to fear, oh
Love be my guide, Lift me I’ll fly
On the wings of grace.
CLOSING BLESSING
A Blessing for Beauty
May your eyes open to the startling beauty of you
and the divine beauty in those who are not you.
May you find wonders in earth’s bounties,
like fragrant flowers, verdant grass, silver rain,
and dark soil cool beneath your feet.
See the shine of love in another’s eyes,
and reflect that love back at them.
Find joy in children’s laughter,
and wisdom in the wizened face of elders.
Let dawn make you leap out of your slumber to start a joy-filled day.
Let twilight bring you ease as you move into a night of reflection and hope for a more joyous tomorrow.
Love without hesitation, for what is more beautiful than that?
Live in kindness, knowing we are one, all of us are one.
Find generosity in your need and be generous when others are in need.
May you know you are never alone.
Embrace life and greet it with passion, receive from it all that it gives.
May your days, however they are numbered,
be full and may the legacy you leave be strong.
Let the generations that follow you, ever benefit from your bright light.
May you have love and beauty.
May you give love and beauty.
May you be love and beauty.
Now and forever.
SUNG AMEN
Credits
All songs and texts used with permission. All rights reserved.
Opening Prayer written by Claudia Love Mair
Opening Song: We Are Weaving Our Lives by Alexa Sunshine Rose from the album Cultivating Seeds of Liberation: Songs of Justice and Joy
Sung Psalm Opening and Doxology: Richard Bruxvoort Colligan from the album Monk in the World: Songs for Contemplative Living
Psalm 104: Interpretation by Christine Robinson, musical setting and sung by Simon de Voil
Reading of the Night: Makoto Fujimura, Art + Faith: A Theology of Making. Yale University Press (2021) page 12.
Closing Song: On the Wings of Grace by Melanie DeMore from the album Cultivating Seeds of Liberation: Songs of Justice and Joy
Closing Blessing written by Claudia Love Mair
Prayers, readings, and blessings voiced by Claudia Love Mair and Jo-ed Tome. Audio engineering by Simon de Voil.
Please note: All of the songs and prayer responses are published on albums in the Abbey of the Arts collection unless otherwise noted. In addition, these songs & responses have accompanying gesture prayers and/or dances created by Betsey Beckman that can be found on the corresponding video collections. Audio and video recordings of the Prayer Cycles are available at AbbeyoftheArts.com.
