Our Lovable Father

St. Gertrude of Helfta (1256-1301), a German Benedictine nun, mystic, and scholar, wrote a prayer that included this line: “I sing to you, Lord God, lovable Father.”

I have never heard God referred to as “lovable Father” before. Generally we consider people who are kind, generous, lighthearted, and amusing to be lovable. Yet isn’t God all those things—the one who constantly forgives, provides a fertile earth to meet all our needs, is filled with grace, and creates goofy-looking creatures such as giraffes and platypuses? Despite this evidence that God is lovable, somehow God has gotten a reputation as being aloof, stern, judgmental, and difficult to please.

Jesus certainly thought of God as lovable. He spent as much time with his “Abba” as possible, engaged in intimate conversations with him, and looked forward to returning to him at the end of his earthly life. Jesus not only helped us see God in a different light but invited us to enter into this nurturing relationship: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (Jn 14: 24).

St. Gertrude clearly thought of God with great affection. Because she felt reassured in God’s unending love, she was able to ask God to be her all in all, as the conclusion of her prayer demonstrates:

Be my honor, Lord,

my joy,

my beauty,

my consolation in sorrow,

my counsel in uncertainty,

my defense in everything unfair,

my patience in problems,

my abundance in poverty,

my food in fasting,

my sleep in vigilance,

and my therapy in weakness.

May our meditation on this prayer lead us closer to our lovable Father, who invites us into a circle of mutual delight.