Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
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;
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

This is the fourth prayer I committed to memory after the Lord’s Prayer, “God is great, and God is good,” and “Now I lay me down to sleep.” This prayer is credited to St. Francis of Assisi.

I like this prayer because it resounds from Jesus’ teachings found in the New Testament. I like this prayer because it emphasizes what a difference we, as Christ’s disciples, can make in others’ lives by helping to instill love, hope, faith, and joy. I like this prayer because it not only speaks of what the faithful will ultimately receive, but it also charges us to act now, for example, … to console, to love, and to forgive.

Prayer

Lord, make us instruments of Your peace. Amen.