The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi -Lord Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace
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Prayer of Peace - St. Francis of Assisi
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;
And where there is sadness, joy.
Oh, Divine Father, 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.
A Perfect Prayer
St. Francis of Assisi wrote what may be considered the perfect prayer, one of the most selfless connections to God we can imagine. The aspirations expressed in this simple plea are idealistic and completely pure.
This is not a prayer for people of certain religious persuasions, but a mediation for all who desire peace. Secular people, non-Christians, and atheists can strive to achieve the ideal thought pattern and behavior so beautifully offered by Saint Francis.
He recognized that he and all who recite this prayer will run up against people and circumstances that will be threatening. He does not ask God to be speared the burden of hardship but to have the strength to strand strong - not against evil but for good.
In order to achieve peace, we must start the only place we can -ourselves, through rigorous self examination or somehow led back into innocence by a worthy guide.
One afternoon, sitting on the back porch with my 4 year old son on my lap, I spotted a mother mocking bird and her own little one. Mother stood to the side with a look of pride about her and watched the young bird harass some tiny creature. Binoculars revealed that it was a hermit crab. the young mocking bird ran toward the hermit crab, pecked at it, then jumped away repetitivly. the whole scene struck me as, well, cute.
My son was not amused.
"It's only a hermit crab," I said
The little child (with his curling red hair) was shocked that I'd say such a thing. He climbed down from my lap and demanded that I save the hermit crab.
"Just because you don't care doesn't make it okay to let it be killed," the wise child instructed.
Out of the mouths of babes. I'd thought I was a decent person, not unkind, even a loving person. It took a four year old to illustrate the hardness of my heart, the blotched soul that resided in a supposedly decent person.
If peace is our goal, the condemnation of the behavior of others is not enough, we need to look into our own hearts
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I'm an agnostic and this is one of my favourite meditations. Thank you for placing here - this hub will achieve a lot in a quiet and unassuming way.
we reap what we sow, and never a truer word said. Just because...is a good enough reason for peace and harmony.
Shalini, wow, I did not even notice the connection, boy is that unconscious! Yet, appropriate.
Iphegenia, I'm gland you enjoy it. I'm not exactly Church lady my own self, but we all need to find a way. Thank you so much for your kind words.
Alison, yes, that's a great sentiment and comfort. But it isn't always true in life itself, but maybe the inner life.
Out of the mouths of babes. And for those beautiful children, I wish for world peace. Thank you for your beautiful hub and joining the hubs around the world link for peace.
Anyone interested in writing a hub for our "Hubs across the world unite for peace" can do so by following this link.
http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/14635
Peace. :)
Very nice Hub. I have a huge painting of St. Francis in my foyer (8' X 5"). This is a beuatiful prayer and I was pleased to read it today. Thanks.
Thanks, James. I love your hubs abut paintings and will check in to see if you have a photo up of your St. Francis painting.
Thank you, Paper Moon. I really love the peace hub concept and how hubbers will all have a different take.
I love the prayer by St. Francis and I can see why it may be considered the perfect prayer. I enjoyed this hub for peace. Thank you!
Thank you Dottie, I am glad you read and enjoyed it.
I found myself singing Dolores. Can you hear it now? LOL I absolutely love your hub in its simplicity and profoundness. Yes, kids are wise indeed. Have a peace filled and love filled day. :-)
Thank you, ripplemaker, I really like this peace hub bit, it really makes you think about your own behavior an dhow it affects others. Peace to you too...
Dolores..you have such a wonderful cute son.Yes,children are so innocent and wise.If only we can think like them,there will be peace!:)BTW,this is my fav prayer!:)
lyla, when I was younger I used to wonder what the heck Jesus meant when He said to be like little children, after dealing with them for years, now I know!
The son is a bit taller than I am now, but he is still cute.
Great prayer, great hub. We have no right to end any life at all, unless it is the only way to end its suffering.
Thank you Teresa, I appreciate you stopping by.
I wasn't going to kill it but let nature takes its own way. I guess I never realized what a hard hearted Hanna I was.
Beautiful Hub, Dolores, your son and your writting deeply touched my heart. Thank you and peace with you.
Thank you, Tatjana, I am glad that you liked it. Your peace hub is the best.
Amen...I loved this hub. Thank you and Blessings..
God bless you too, GiftedGrandma, your children and grandchildren are lucky to have such a lovely woman, shall I say, in charge.
This hub is a blessing, thank you!
Blessed are the peacemakers! For they shall be called the sons of God. (Mathew 5:9)
Thank you TJ - I hope your New Year is filled with peace!
Oh God fill our hearts with love because our lives are to short for our souls!
alberich - how lovely! Oh god fill our hearts with love because out lives are too short for hate! Peace!
Out of the mouths of babes. Yes. This Hub conveys a needful, lovely message. I love that prayer by St. Francis. Thank you for this pleasure.
James - thank you. The prayer of St. Francis is so beautiful, a wonderful guide for us to follow. I keep it on my fridge to look at every once in a while. This prayer can really help keep a person on the right track.
My favorite prayer. I wrote it on my profile page :)
Nancy - yes, it is a beautiful prayer and a guide for living. Thank you!
This is a very beautiful prayer Delores. I haven't seen it in a long time, thanks for sharing.
Hi, Carrie - yes it is. I am glad that you enjoyed reading it.
Hi, I have always love Francis ever since I saw the film Father Son, and Sister Moon, I think that is what it was called, I love animals thats probably why, lovely hub, cheers nell
Hi, Nell - I have yet to see that movie but really should. Thanks!
What an expression of deep rooted lessons. I don't know your affiliation of religions or church, I suspect possibly Catholic, It matters not, you have a deep heart as shown in the openness of your heart willing to hear a child. You nor the child may not have knowledge of the book of Genesis that states we will be held responsible for every life blood spilled as life is in the blood and life is given by God to each and every living thing. As a hunter I must acknowledge to the Father thanks for the food harvested, when one kills for no reason the blood cries out to the Father. Demonstrated to Cain as God heard Able's call out after Cain took his life and God called out to Cain inquiring where was Able your brother?
In the New Testament "in no ways will we see the kingdom of God, lest we learn to see the world through the eyes of a child"
Excellent demonstration of the eyes of a child, stopping the bird from his natural ways of protecting most likely young birds who drop to the ground while learning flight, is a Mothers instinct, as helping the crab for the sake of your son, again an instinct, to aid him in the sanctity of life. After he becomes older he is able to learn the balance of nature and even though I don't care to see a baby fawn attacked by a Mountain Lion, seeing the majestic lion become skin and bones starving to a slow end is just as bad in my eye to see. I hope that made sense to you, their are scriptures of the design of life but I'm not capable of quoting them by number and book except a few. Mathew 25:31-46 would work for us after John 3:16.
Thank you for the demonstration and depth of the eyes of a child.
Peace, Blessings and Love,
Dustin
Hi Dustin - well of course the mother bird was probably teaching her young one to hunt, a skill needed for survival. I recently watched a pair of Coopers hawks as their young ones chased some squirrels around a tree. It was like watching a nature show. If the young hawk had killed the squirrel, that would have provided a valuable lesson. Blood spilled in order to live. I understand that, but the idea of the little child's compassion just wowed me. He was a very compassionate child, even as a baby, he'd try to assist other babies if they fell. I wondered about him, how he was like that so young. We do learn a lot from children, and Jesus said so. Thank you for stopping in. Peace and Love to you, dear.
Indeed, this is one of my favorites..in addition to Psalm 23...
Thank you.
Shalini Kagal Level 4 Commenter 2 years ago
That has always been one of my favourite prayers, Dolores
Your little one has a wise and loving heart :) St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals!