Make me an instrument...Lord, make me an instrument of your 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.
Amen. I have been praying and thinking about this prayer often attributed to St. Francis. It has been on my mind in part because of the upcoming feast day of St. Francis on October 4th. In part because it is a humble prayer in that the one praying is asking to be made of service to others. I have also been noticing how well it lines up with the great Christ hymn in the second chapter of Philippians. But mostly, I have been drawn to this prayer because I see a world that is in need of peace, pardon, faith, hope, light, joy, and most of all…Love. I want to invite you to join me in praying this prayer daily this week. To reflect on those places and times in our day where we might be called to not only pray this prayer…but to live it out sacramentally. Blessings, Matthew+
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP p. 234) |
