I am a confirmed Catholic.
During my confirmation,
When I was 15 years old,
You had to pick a name.
And since I don't have a middle name,
It felt like I was picking my middle name.
And for whatever reason,
Francis struck me.
There was something about that name that called to me.
It wasn't that I was really connected to St.
Francis at the time,
But there was something about Francis that spoke to me.
And so I chose Francis as my confirmation name.
Fast forward a decade later where I started to have more spiritual inclinations.
And ever since my own awakening into this process,
I felt a deep connection and reverence to St.
Francis of Assisi and have fallen in love with the prayer that's attributed to St.
Francis,
Known as the Prayer of St.
Francis.
You can see above my shoulder is a little figurine of St.
Francis.
And so I want to share with you this prayer as a way to slow down into it.
Connect with the words,
Connect with which parts of it really resonate for you.
And so we're going to do this as a little bit of a prayer and also a meditation.
And so I'm going to say the prayer once all the way through,
And then we're going to slow down together and really allow these words to sink in.
You might even say it to yourself and feel which really resonate.
And so we'll have the spirit,
Hopefully,
Of St.
Francis here with us as we do this.
And so go ahead and close your eyes.
And begin to.
Relax your shoulders coming into your body.
And together,
Let's take a cleansing breath in,
Breathing in fully.
And as you exhale,
Let everything relax.
Audible,
Slow exhale.
And if you know the prayer.
You're welcome to say it as I repeat it the first time.
And again,
We're going to slow down more into it.
In this next portion.
And so beginning feeling into your heart.
Maybe this is.
.
.
Prayer you've connected to many times,
Maybe this is new for you,
Just connecting into your heart.
And opening up to.
.
.
The spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi.
The devotion he had.
The humility,
The simplicity that his life represented.
And of course,
The love.
That poured out of him the love.
For life,
The love for animals as he's known as.
And love for God.
And so in your heart maybe feeling that love that you have.
Lord God.
Make me.
An instrument.
Of your peace.
Where there is hatred.
Let me sow love.
Where there is injury.
Pardon.
Where there is despair.
Where there is doubt.
Faith.
Where there is sadness.
Joy.
Where there is error.
And where there is darkness.
Light.
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.
Has to love.
For it is in giving we receive.
It is imparting.
And we are pardoned.
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
And so just taking a moment,
Again,
Connecting to your heart,
Feeling how.
Hearing that prayer all the way through resonated.
And then we're going to do that one more time.
This time I'm going to slow it down.
I invite you to repeat the words to yourself.
And see if you can really allow.
Them to reverberate,
Let them resonate within you.
And just notice which,
Especially in that beginning portion,
Which one really calls to you.
My Lord God.
Make me.
An instrument.
Of your peace.
Where there is hatred.
Let me sow love.
Where there is injury.
Harden.
Where there is despair.
Where there is doubt.
Where there is error.
Where there is sadness.
Enjoy.
And where there is darkness.
And taking another moment here to connect with one of those.
Which one really struck you today?
It might just be make me an instrument of your piece.
Just pick one of those.
And this repeats.
Which one?
You want to embody.
Maybe it's truth,
Maybe it's faith.
Maybe it's light.
Which one resonates with you today?
And then we're going to move on to the last portion.
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.
Connect back into your heart.
Taking another moment to feel the impact of this prayer.
Feel what connected with you today.
Make maybe an intention to go about your day.
With one of these,
There's so much richness to this prayer,
But maybe it's.
.
.
Seeking to give rather than receive maybe it's being an embodiment of faith or hope.
What is your intention from this prayer today?
And then when you're ready,
You can slowly open your eyes.
And.
.
.
Coming back here.
Thank you for exploring this with me today.
I want to thank you.
Just share to bring the name full circle.
In my wedding ceremony,
I went by Louis Francis.
It was a whole thing.
I won't get into the whole story,
But it just became a way to keep this name and St.
Francis of Assisi alive for me.
And I've always had this really wonderful connection with St.
Francis,
As I mentioned,
And I decided to create a course on this prayer.
So I have a five-day course on Insight Timer called Living the Prayer of St.
Francis.
Where we break down this prayer even deeper and I also share other writings from St.
Francis to weave in this spiritual tapestry that's trying to speak to the essence of who he was and how his life is still living.
And so if you're a fan of St.
Francis,
If you feel like you're wanting more insight and wisdom to live this prayer and to live his teachings,
I would love to encourage you to check out that course,
Living the Prayer of St.
Francis.
I think you'll really enjoy it.
Look forward to connecting with you again very soon.
As St.
Francis would always say,
Pax et bonum.
Go with peace or peace be with you,
Something like that.
Pax et bonum.
And take care.
