An Instrument of Peace

St. Francis' Peace Prayer

"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."

I am quite an enthusiast of written prayers. They have a way of inspiring me and directing my thoughts. I have a small collection of favorites that I find myself going back to time after time, contemplating, and memorizing. Phrases get caught in my mind and find their way into my extemporaneous prayers and writings, and, more importantly, concepts and attitudes that are expressed in written prayers are cemented and strengthened in my mind as I consider them. The thoughts turn into values and actions, which build a lifestyle.

One of my favorite prayers is called the “Peace Prayer” and is attributed to St. Francis. It reminds me of the biography of St. Francis, who gave up wealth and position to live as a beggar. He loved the unlovable and cared for the lepers that everyone else was terrified of. As I pray, I ask myself -- would I have the strength to do something like that? Would I have the courage to lay aside the comfort and tranquility of my safe little world so that God could take me into His hands and use me as His instrument? Would I have the maturity to forsake my serene corner, to step out into a world of hatred, injury, doubt, despair, darkness, and sadness, and to take with me the gifts that God equips me with? Would I have the humility to give them away without a second thought to people I would rather not associate myself with, perhaps that I'm afraid of?

Truly the greatest virtue is humility. Conversely, the greatest sin is selfishness. Selfishness says that man is the most important, and leads us to all kinds of other sins. A man murders because he is selfish enough to think that he has the right to take another man's life. A woman is jealous because she is selfish enough to think that she deserves what someone else has. Selfishness makes us think we deserve only the best while silently killing us inwardly. Humility, on the other hand, says that God is most important, and we show our devotion and servitude to God by serving other people. The only way to serve another person is to put aside ourselves. A humble person is one who completely loses himself in serving God and other people. It isn't easy to forget ourselves, because we are constantly aware of our own wants and needs. I desire to be consoled by others when my mind is perturbed, to be understood by others when I don't even understand myself, to be loved and valued when I doubt my true worth. But at some point, if I really want to live as God's instrument, I have to put away and repress my own desires in order to make the world better for another person.

In his prayer, St. Francis captures this ironic concept of death to self. Jesus said, “...Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up your cross, and follow me.” (Matt. 10:21, NKJV) Jesus did not make the ultimate sacrifice so that we could sit back and relax in our warm, safe homes and wait to be ushered into heaven. The deed Jesus so humbly did, we must choose to do as well. We must let go of and throw away the things we hold dear, the old ways of thinking and satisfying ourselves. Only then will we know what it truly means to have life, and life more abundantly. It is in giving to others that we receive. It is in forgiving others that we will find forgiveness. And it is in that paradoxical death that we will find eternal life.

E.