Francis of Assisi's Prayer

The prayer of Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

LORD, make me an instrument of Thy peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O DIVINE MASTER,

grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

AVOID THE FOUR CORNERS OF FAILURE

Corner No. 1:  The unwillingness to ask for help. No one is an island. Each requires assistance from God. God often uses a fellow human to supply.

Corner No. 2:  The belief that force is stronger power than kindness.  “There is nothing so strong as gentleness and nothing so gentle as real strength.”  American Indian Proverb

Corner No. 3:  The belief that escape from reality is possible.  Dreams and hopes are fulfilled only through the recognition of the reality of God and the strength that He alone can fill.

Corner No. 4:  The surrender to self-pity instead of turning to the Creator for forgiveness and wisdom. Through Christ one can “start by doing what is necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly one is doing the impossible.”  (Francis of Assisi)