St. Francis of Assisi ~ Giotto di Bondone ~ 14th c.
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.
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.
This popular prayer is usually attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. Some Franciscan scholars say Francis didn't compose the prayer. I'd suggest it doesn't really matter; surely the lines reflect his thought.
More importantly, are we ready for the prayer? Do we dare imagine what our personal lives would look like if we lived it deeply? How our minds would change!
For me, perhaps the most important word in the prayer is sow...let me sow love, pardon, faith, hope, light and joy. Some synonyms for sow are: broadcast, distribute, plant, scatter, spread, disperse.
Here, Giotto has painted Francis speaking to a large number of birds in great variety. Francis accepted and loved people in all their variety as well. We could do with a good dose of that today.
~ ~ ~ ~
This popular prayer is usually attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. Some Franciscan scholars say Francis didn't compose the prayer. I'd suggest it doesn't really matter; surely the lines reflect his thought.
More importantly, are we ready for the prayer? Do we dare imagine what our personal lives would look like if we lived it deeply? How our minds would change!
For me, perhaps the most important word in the prayer is sow...let me sow love, pardon, faith, hope, light and joy. Some synonyms for sow are: broadcast, distribute, plant, scatter, spread, disperse.
Here, Giotto has painted Francis speaking to a large number of birds in great variety. Francis accepted and loved people in all their variety as well. We could do with a good dose of that today.
