November 23, 2010

The prayer of St. Francis

The Peace Prayer of St. Francis 

by an anonymous Norman c. 1915 A.D. 

The Prayer of St Francis of Assisi

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;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.


St. Francis was born at Assisi in 1182. After a care free youth, he turned his back on inherited wealth and committed himself to God. Like many early saints, he lived a very simple life of poverty, and in so doing, gained a reputation of being the friend of animals.  He established the rule of St Francis, which exists today as the Order of St. Francis, or the Franciscans. He died in 1226, aged 44.The prayer has many of the biblical truths of what it means to be a Christian - to seek to give, and in so doing, receive blessings; that the Lord's Prayer asks God to forgive us as we forgive, and that the goal of eternal life can only result from us putting to death our old sinful lives.


Pointers for Prayer : Sometimes Christians are called to turn the world upside down. To bring the exact opposite of what we find in our world. St. Francis' prayer is a bold one, asking for strength to give of ourselves to meet the needs of others. He recognises that it "is in giving that we receive", that as we give of ourselves, we receive the peace and blessing of our risen Lord Jesus. We cannot earn eternal life, but that we are pardoned from the sins that block our claim on it.  

Think about the situations that you are involved in that require peace, consolation, hope, light and joy.  Then, if you're bold enough, pray the prayer!


The Story Behind the Peace Prayer of St. Francis

The Peace Prayer of St. Francis is a famous prayer which first appeared around the year 1915 A.D., and which embodies the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi's simplicity and poverty.

According to Father Kajetan Esser, OFM, the author of the critical edition of St. Francis's Writings, the Peace Prayer of St. Francis is most certainly not one of the writings of St. Francis. 

 This prayer, according to Father Schulz, Das sogennante Franziskusgebet. Forshungen zur evangelishen Gebetslitteratur (III), in Jahrbuch fur Liturgik und Hymnologie, 13 (1968), pp. 39-53, first appeared during the First World War. It was found written on the observe of a holy card of St. Francis, which was found in a Normal Almanac. The prayer bore no name; but in the English speaking world, on account of this holy card, it came to be called the Peace Prayer of St. Francis.




SOME PRAYERS COMPOSED BY SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI



Saint Francis’ Prayer Before the Blessed Sacrament

We adore You, O Lord Jesus Christ, in this Church and all the Churches of the world, and we bless You, because, by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen. 


Saint Francis’ Prayer Before the Crucifix

Most High, glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me true faith, certain hope, and perfect charity, sense and knowledge, so that I may carry out Your holy and true command. Amen


Saint Francis’ Greetings to the Blessed Virgin

Hail, Lady and Queen, holy Mary, Mother of God,
Virgin who became the Church, chosen by the Father in heaven,
consecrated by his beloved Son and his Spirit, the Comforter:
in you was and remains, the whole fullness of grace and everything that is good.
Hail, his palace, hail, his tabernacle, hail, his dwelling, hail, his robe,
hail, his handmaid, hail, his mother!

O holy Mother, sweet and fair to see,
for us beseech the King, your dearest Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
to death for us delivered: that in his pitying clemency,
and by virtue of his most holy incarnation and bitter death,
he may pardon our sins.

Holy Virgin Mary, among all the women of the world, there is none like you.
You are the daughter and handmaid of the most high King, Father of heaven.
You are the mother of our most holy Lord Jesus Christ.
You are the bride of the Holy Spirit.


Pray for us, with St. Michael the archangel, and all the powers of heaven
and all the saints,
to your most holy and beloved Son, our Lord and Master, Amen.

Saint Francis’ Prayer Praising Mary the Mother of God

Hail, O Lady, Holy Queen, Mary, holy Mother of God:
you are the Virgin made Church chosen by the most Holy Father in heaven
whom He consecrated with His most holy beloved Son and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,
in whom there was and is all fullness of grace and every good.

Hail His Palace! Hail His Tabernacle!
Hail His Dwelling! Hail His Robe!
Hail His Servant! Hail His Mother!

And hail all you holy virtues Which are poured into the hearts of the faithful
through the grace and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit,
that from being unbelievers, you may make them faithful to God. Amen. 
 

Saint Francis’ Blessing to Brother Leo

The Lord bless you and keep you; May He show His face to you and have mercy.
May He turn His countenance to you and give you peace. The Lord bless you, Brother Leo.



Saint Francis’ Canticle of All Creatures

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord, All praise is Yours, all glory, all honour and all blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.

Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour, Of You Most High, he bears the likeness.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
In the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all weather’s moods, by which You cherish all that You have made.

Praised be You my Lord through Sister Water, So useful, humble, precious and pure.

Praised be You my Lord through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You my Lord through our Sister, Mother Earth who sustains and governs us,
producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.

Praise be You my Lord through those who grant pardon for love of You and bear sickness and trial.
Blessed are those who endure in peace, By You Most High, they will be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Death, from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Blessed are they She finds doing Your Will. No second death can do them harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks, And serve Him with great humility



Saint Francis’ Meditation Prayer

My God and my All! 



Saint Francis’ Prayer in Praise of God, Given to Brother Leo

You are holy, Lord, the only God, and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong. You are great. You are the Most High. You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth. You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good, Lord God, living and true.
You are love. You are wisdom. You are humility. You are endurance.
You are rest. You are peace. You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation. You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
You are beauty. You are gentleness. You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender. You are our courage.
You are our haven and our hope. You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful Lord, God Almighty, Merciful Saviour. Amen. 



Saint Francis' Canticle of Exhortation to Saint Clare and Her Sisters

Listen, little poor ones called by the Lord, who have come together from many parts and provinces.
Live always in truth, that you may die in obedience.
Do not look at the life outside, for that of the Spirit is better.
I beg you through great love, to use with discretion the alms which the Lord gives you.
Those who are weighed down by sickness and the others who are wearied because of them,
All of you, bear it in peace.
For you will sell this fatigue at a very high price
And each of you will be crowned queen in heaven with the Virgin Mary.



Saint Francis' Appeal to God the Father

Almighty, eternal, just, and merciful God, grant us in our misery the grace to do for You alone
What we know You want us to do, and always to desire what pleases you.

Thus, inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened, and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit,
May we be able to follow in the footsteps of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And, by Your grace alone, may we make our way to You, Most High,
Who live and rule in perfect Trinity and simple Unity,
And are glorified God all-powerful forever and ever. Amen. 



Saint Francis' Prayer to Mary, the Mother of God

Holy Virgin Mary, among women, there is no one like you born into the world:
You are the daughter and the servant of the most high and supreme King and Father of heaven,
You are the mother of our most holy Lord Jesus Christ
You are the spouse of the Holy Spirit.
Pray for us with Saint Michael the Archangel and all the powers of the heavens and all the saints
To your most holy beloved Son, the Lord and Master.



Saint Francis' Praise of God

All powerful, most holy, most high, and supreme God:
All good, supreme good, totally good, You Who alone are good;
May we give You all praise, all glory, all thanks, all honor, all blessing, and all good things.
So be it. So be it. Amen. 



Saint Francis' Prayer Inspired by the Our Father

O OUR most holy FATHER, Our Creator, Redeemer, Consoler, and Saviour, WHO ARE IN HEAVEN:


In the angels and in the saints, Enlightening them to love, because You, Lord, are light
Inflaming them to love, because You, Lord, are love Dwelling in them and filling them with happiness,
Because You, Lord, are the Supreme Good, the Eternal Good,
From Whom comes all good and without Whom there is no good.

HALLOWED BY YOUR NAME: May our knowledge of You become ever clearer
That we may know the breadth of Your blessings, the length of Your promises,
The height of Your majesty, the depth of Your judgments

YOUR KINGDOM COME: So that You may rule in us through Your grace
And enable us to come to Your kingdom where there is an unclouded vision of You,
A perfect love of You, a blessed companionship with You, an eternal enjoyment of You.

YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN:

That we may love You with our whole heart by always thinking of You,
With our whole soul by always desiring You,
With our whole mind by directing all our intentions to You and by seeking Your glory in everything,
And with our whole strength by spending all our energies and affections of soul and body


In the service of Your love and of nothing else,
And may we love our neighbors as ourselves by drawing them all with our whole strength to Your love,


By rejoicing in the good fortunes of others as well as our own,
And by sympathizing with the misfortunes of others and by giving offense to no one.

GIVE US THIS DAY : in memory and understanding and reverence of the love
which Our Lord Jesus Christ had for us and of those things which He said and did and suffered for us.

OUR DAILY BREAD : Your own Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ

AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES : Through Your ineffable mercy,
Through the power of the Passion of Your Beloved Son,
Together with the merits and intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all Your chosen ones.

AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US:
And whatever we do not forgive perfectly, do You, Lord, enable us to forgive to the full
So that we may truly love our enemies and fervently intercede for them before You,
Returning no one evil for evil and striving to help everyone in You.

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION Hidden or obvious, Sudden or persistent

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL, Past, present, and to come.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.  



Saint Francis' Salutation of the Virtues

Hail, Queen Wisdom, may the Lord protect you with your sister, holy pure Simplicity.
Lady, holy Poverty, may the Lord protect you with your sister, holy Humility.
Lady, holy Charity, may the Lord protect you with your sister, holy Obedience.
O most holy Virtues, may the Lord protect all of you from Whom you come and proceed.
There is surely no one in the entire world who can posses any one of you unless he dies first.
Whoever possesses one [of you] and does not offend the others, possesses all.
And whoever offends one [of you] does not posses any and offends all.
And each one destroys vices and sins.
Holy Wisdom destroys Satan and all his subtlety.
Pure holy simplicity destroys all the wisdom of this world
and all the wisdom of the body.
Holy Poverty destroys the desire of riches and avarice and the cares of this world.
Holy Humility destroys pride and all the people who are in the world
and all things that belong to the world.
Holy Charity destroys every temptation of the devil and of the flesh and every carnal fear.
Holy Obedience destroys every wish of the body and of the flesh
and binds its mortified body to obedience of the Spirit and to obedience of one's brother,
and the person who possesses her is subject and submissive to all persons in the world
and not to man only but even to all beasts and wild animals
so that they may do whatever they want with him
inasmuch as it has been given to them from above by the Lord.

 

Saint Francis' Prayer and Thanksgiving from the Earlier Rule (Regula non bullata)

All powerful, most holy, most high and supreme God, Holy and just Father,
Lord, King of heaven and earth,
We thank You for Yourself for through Your Holy will and through Your only Son with the Holy Spirit
You have created all things spiritual and corporal and, having made us in Your own image and likeness,
You placed us in paradise. And through our own fault we have fallen.
And we thank You for as through Your Son You created us, so also,
Through Your holy love with which You have loved us,
You brought about His birth as true God and true man by the glorious, ever-virgin, most blessed, holy Mary
And You willed to redeem us captives through His cross and blood and death.
And we thank You for Your Son Himself will come again in the glory of His majesty
To send the wicked ones who have not done penance and who have not known You into the eternal fire,
And to say to all those who have known You and have adored You and have served You in penance:
"Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world."

And because all of us wretches and sinners are not worthy to pronounce Your name,
We humbly ask that our Lord Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son,
In whom You were well pleased, together with the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,
Give You thanks as it pleases You and Him for everything, He Who always satisfies You in everything through Whom You have done such great things for us. Alleluia!

And through Your love we humbly beg the glorious Mother, most blessed Mary, ever-virgin,
Blessed Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael and all the blessed choirs of seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations, principalities, powers, virtues, angels, archangels, blessed John the Baptist,
John the Evangelist, Peter, Paul, and the blessed patriarchs, prophets, the Innocents, apostles, evangelists, disciples, martyrs, confessors, and virgins, the blessed Elijah and Henoch, and all the saints who were, who will be, and who are, to give You thanks for these things as it pleases You, the supreme and true God, eternal and living, with Your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, world without end. Amen. Alleluia.



Saint Francis' Petition for Holiness from the Earlier Rule (Regula non bullata)

Therefore, let us desire nothing else, let us wish for nothing else, let nothing else please us and cause us delight, except our Creator and Redeemer and Savior, the one true God, Who is the Fullness of Good, all good, every good, the true and supreme good, Who alone is Good, merciful, and gentle, delectable and sweet,
Who alone is holy and just and true, holy and right,
Who alone is kind, innocent, pure,
from Whom and through Whom and in Whom is all pardon, all grace, all glory of all the penitent and the just, of all the blessed who rejoice together in heaven.
Therefore, let nothing hinder us, nothing separate us, or nothing come between us.

Let all of us, wherever we are, in every place, at every hour, at every time of day, everyday and continually, believe truly and humbly and keep in our heart and love, honor, adore, serve, praise, and bless, glorify and exalt, magnify and give thanks to the most high and supreme eternal God, Trinity and Unity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Creator of all, Savior of all who believe in Him and hope in Him and love Him, Who is without beginning and without end, unchangeable, invisible, indescribable, ineffable, incomprehensible, unfathomable, blessed, worthy of praise, glorious, exalted on high, sublime, most high, gentle, lovable, delectable, and totally desirable above all else forever. Amen. 



Novena of St. Francis

NINE DAYS OF PRAYER IN ANY NECESSITY PETITIONING THE AID OF SAINT FRANCIS

  Prepared by the Franciscan Friars, T.O.R.


A PRAYER FOR PEACE
(To be said after every day's Novena)

DAY 1
O God, come to my assistance.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You know all things and nothing is hidden from You. In Your mercy and kindness, and through the intercession of Saint Francis, come to my aid in my present distress and grant my humble petition (mention your request). Amen.
Your offering today: Show your humility by doing a good deed for someone today. Conclude with the Prayer for Peace

DAY 2
Hear me O Lord, and have pity on me.
Prayer: Father in heaven, Your love for us never falters in spite of our transgressions and failures. Please show Your mercy for me in my difficulty (mention your request). Through the intercession of St. Francis and for the sake of Christ, Our Savior, have pity on me. Amen.
Your offering today: See the suffering Christ in someone around you. Conclude with the Prayer for Peace

DAY 3
Lord, be not far from me.
Prayer: Loving Father, You are not far from any of us since in You we live, move and have our being. Increase my awareness of Your presence and through the intercession of Saint Francis take care of my pressing need (mention your request). Amen.
Your offering today: Throughout the day, give your cares to the Lord. Conclude with the Prayer for Peace

DAY 4
Make Your ways known to me, O Lord.
Prayer: Father Almighty, Your ways and purpose are often hidden from us. Guide me now and through the intercession of Saint Francis of Assisi, I beg You, in my sorrow, and by Your power, to let me know Your will regarding my special need (mention your request). Amen.
Your offering today: Consider today how you can do God's will. Conclude with the Prayer for Peace

DAY 5
O Lord grant safety to those who long for it.
Prayer: In You Heavenly Father, I confidently place my trust. In your hands, I leave all my anxieties with faith in Your care for me. From You, and through the intercession of Saint Francis of Assisi, I await relief from my present distress (mention your request). Amen.
Your offering today: For God's sake, help some person whom you may not like. Conclude with the Prayer for Peace

DAY 6
O Lord, do not chastise me with Your anger.
Prayer: Merciful Father, You know my weakness and disobedience. Yet, You are ever ready to forgive and be gracious to me in my trouble. In Christ's name and through the intercession of Saint Francis of Assisi quickly come to help me (mention your request). Amen.
Your offering today: Banish from your mind and tongue unkind words and thoughts today. Conclude with the Prayer for Peace

DAY 7
The Lord is a stronghold in times of distress.
Prayer: Father in Heaven, You never reject those who seek Your help and are ever ready to comfort the sorrowful. Through the intercession of Saint Francis and in Christ's name, I implore You to have pity on me in my needs (mention your request), and to rescue me from all afflictions. Amen.
Your offering today: In imitation of Christ and St. Francis, do good to those who may dislike you. Conclude with the Prayer for Peace

DAY 8
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
Prayer: Your goodness, Heavenly Father, responds speedily to our sorrow. In my distress I call upon You to hear and answer my prayers (mention your request). In You, O God, I will continue to trust despite everything. I ask this request in Christ's name and through the intercession of Saint Francis of Assisi. Amen.
Your offering today: Help someone you know who is in need of your friendship and support. Conclude with the Prayer for Peace

DAY 9
The Lord will set me free and rescue me because He loves me. Prayer: Gracious Father, I will thank You each day for Your merciful goodness to me. With Your help I will ever praise Your kindness in my trouble. Please assist me now as I faithfully follow Christ, my Savior, and call upon the friendship and intercession of Saint Francis of Assisi, by granting my petition (mention your request). Amen.
Your offering today: In gratitude, be good to others today. Conclude with the Prayer for Peace



St Francis of Assisi Novena prayer of the Immaculate Conception.

Hail, holy Lady,
Most holy Queen,
Mary, Mother of God, Virgin made Church;
Chosen by the most Holy Father in heaven,
consecrated by him, with his most holy beloved Son
and the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
On you descended and in you still remains
all the fullness of grace and every good.
Hail, his Palace, his Tabernacle.
Hail, his Robe. Hail, his Handmaid. Hail, his Mother.
And Hail, all holy Virtues who, by the grace
and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, are poured forth into the hearts of the
faithful so that, faithless no longer, they may be made faithful servants of God
through you. Amen.


Related Post