Prayer of St. Francis (Feast Day October 4)

Prayer of St. Francis

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.

“Barter” Poem About Love by Sara Teasdale

Barter

  Life has loveliness to sell,
   All beautiful and splendid things,
  Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
   Soaring fire that sways and sings,
  And children’s faces looking up
  Holding wonder like a cup.

  Life has loveliness to sell,
   Music like a curve of gold,
  Scent of pine trees in the rain,
   Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
  And for your spirit’s still delight,
  Holy thoughts that star the night.

  Spend all you have for loveliness,
   Buy it and never count the cost;
  For one white singing hour of peace
   Count many a year of strife well lost,
  And for a breath of ecstasy
  Give all you have been, or could be.

“Someone Like You” Poem by James Foley

“Some one like you makes the heart seem the lighter,
Some one like you makes the day’s work worth while,
Some one like you makes the sun shine the brighter,
Some one like you makes a sigh half a smile.”

Excerpt From
Some One Like You
James W. Foley

Something to Think About

Go for long walks,
indulge in hot baths,
Question your assumptions,
be kind to yourself,
live for the moment,
loosen up, scream,
curse the world,
count your blessings,
Just let go,
Just be.

Carol Shields

When was the last time you “wasted” a day and relaxed, totally relaxed? It takes a heap of courage to let everything go for 24 hours. Here’s a challenge for you and me, let’s take a 24 hour be kind to myself break and as Carol Shields says, “Just let go, Just be.”

“Peace” Poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Peace

WHEN will you ever, Peace, wild wooddove, shy wings shut,
Your round me roaming end, and under be my boughs?
When, when, Peacè, will you, Peace? I’ll not play
hypocrite
To own my heart: I yield you do come sometimes; but
That piecemeal peace is poor peace. What pure peace
allows
Alarms of wars, the daunting wars, the death of it?
O surely, reaving Peace, my Lord should leave in lieu
Some good! And so he does leave Patience exquisite,
That plumes to Peace thereafter. And when Peace here does house
He comes with work to do, he does not come to coo,
He comes to brood and sit.

Excerpt From
Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins / Now First Published
Gerard Manley Hopkins

“Can You Coax Your Mind?” Poem by Lao Tzu

Can You Coax Your mind?

Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple as a newborn child’s?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from you own mind
and thus understand all things?

Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue.

Something to Think About

“All things and all people … call on us with small or loud voices. They want us to listen. They want us to understand their intrinsic claims, their justice of being. We can give it to them only through the love that listens.” Paul Tillich

What if each of us were able to listen to another without interruption?

What if each of us were able to understand each another without letting our innate biases color our understanding?

What if each of us felt accepted unconditionally as we are at the present moment?

I speak for myself. I’d like that kind of world. How about you?