Wednesday, July 15, 2009

From a List I am on...

Unusual Prayer of St. Francis

The most well-known prayer of St. Francis is; "Make me a channel of your peace etc., etc". But below is one that not many have heard. If it is authentic, it gives us a glimpse of the more rough-edged humanness of Francis. It seems he may not have been always the docile, meek, complacent, and child-like servant portrayed for our edification and imitation by the institution, but having a more genuine Christ-like image that they would just as soon keep under the rug.

"May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships so that we may live deep within our hearts.
May God Bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people so that we may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and share their joy.
And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in the world so that we can continue to do what others claim cannot be done".

(Francis of Assisi, as published in IPM, Publications, CONNECTIONS Newsletter, Jan.-June 2009, p-5)

No comments: