Peace 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. Amen.
Saint Francis of Assisi, was born in the late 12th century (around 1181 or 1182) in Assisi, Italy, was a Catholic friar and the founder of the Franciscan Order. He is one of the most beloved and venerated saints in the Catholic Church and is also recognized as the patron saint of animals and the environment.
Francis was born into a wealthy family but chose a life of poverty and service to God. He experienced a spiritual conversion and dedicated himself to a life of simplicity, humility, and devotion to Christ. He renounced his wealth and embraced a life of poverty, living among the poor and preaching the message of love, peace, and compassion.
One of the well-known stories associated with St. Francis is his affinity for animals. It is said that he had a deep connection with all of God’s creation, referring to animals as his brothers and sisters. The most famous account is the “Canticle of the Creatures,” a poem that praises God for the beauty of the natural world and all living beings.
