The St. Francis Prayer

This is a well-known and beloved prayer written by a man who had seen it all,

Done it all,

Had it all,

And still chose to give it all away.

He chose a life where he was free from material possessions and yet was filled with so much love his spirituality literally emanated from him.

He had such a beautiful and gentle light aura around him that all the animals were attracted to him.

So he's been forever known as the patron saint of animals.

Recognized by many as the Saint Francis prayer,

It is also known in 12-step programs as the 11-step prayer.

Let's just go through the words and then we'll use it as a centering prayer,

Adding our own personal reflection to each word.

You'll find yourself a comfortable position,

Free from distraction for a few minutes,

Allowing the simple yet powerful words to flow over you.

Breathe in,

Allowing the air to enter through your nostrils and down into your lungs,

Belly soft,

Shoulder blades supporting your back as you let distracting thoughts flow out with the breath.

Breathing in and out in a comfortable way at your own pace as you allow the healing power of these words to come in.

Lord,

Make me an instrument of thy peace that where there is hatred I may bring love,

That where there is wrong I may bring the spirit of forgiveness,

That where there is discord I may bring harmony,

That where there is error I may bring truth,

That where there is doubt I may bring faith,

That where there is despair I may bring hope,

That where there are shadows I may bring light,

That where there is sadness I may bring joy.

God grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted,

To understand than to be understood,

To love than to be loved.

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds,

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven,

It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

Now allow these words to come to you and flow into you as you allow yourself to go a little deeper.

Let these words carry healing into yourself as you open your spirit to this contemplative centering prayer.

Lord,

Make me an instrument of thy peace.

Peace.

That where there is hatred I may bring love,

Love.

That where there is wrong I may bring the spirit of forgiveness,

Forgiveness.

That where there is discord I may bring harmony,

Harmony.

That where there is error I may bring truth,

Truth.

That where there is doubt I may bring faith,

Faith.

That where there is despair I may bring hope,

Hope.

That where there are shadows I may bring light,

Light.

That where there is sadness I may bring joy,

Joy.

Lord,

Grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted,

Comfort.

To understand than to be understood,

Understand.

To love than to be loved,

Loved.

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds self-forgetting.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven,

Forgiving.

It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life,

Awakens.

If you want to linger here a little longer with these words you can choose one word and just let it repeat in yourself.

It could be harmony,

It could be faith,

It could be joy,

It could be love.

Make what you need for today.

And if you need a few more minutes you can stop this and just contemplate and come back.

Whatever your choice it's perfect for now.

I hope you have a beautiful blessed day.

Thank you.