Prayer of St. Francis

Spiritual comfort in the aftermath September 2001.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where this 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.

Art adapted from a painting by Giotto of St. Francis blessing the birds.

   

Spontaneous Memorial, New York City

Thousands of spontaneous memorials appeared in New York City after the attack on the World Trade Center. This one is the Prayer of St. Francis (click here for bigger photo).

Photo Credit: copyright © Diana Barnett, September 2001, Used by permission.