Image by Kyle Oliver for prayr.cc (CC BY 2.0) 

OK, so he didn’t actually write it, which is why we often call it the Prayer Attributed to St. Francis. But whoever did definitely understood the spirit of the man.

To quote reader Judy Howard, Francis left “a legacy of healing and love of all creatures that continues, shining bright, even today.” Amen to that too.

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Prayer Attributed to St Francis

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that we 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.

Amen.

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