Meditation Moment- The St. Francis Prayer

One way to increase our spiritual practice if we are rusty or just plain or reluctant is to rely on the words of others. Here is a prayer option to begin your day:

The St. Francis Prayer

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 -

where there is discord, I may bring harmony -

where there is error, I may bring truth -

where there is doubt, I may bring faith -

where there is despair, I may bring hope -

where there are shadows, I may bring light -

where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, 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.

Want to add a bit of weight to your prayer? Spend a couple minutes breathing. Then re-read the prayer.