The Prayer of St.Francis of Assisi is affectionately known as The Eleventh Step Prayer as it appears in the book "12 Steps and 12 Traditions" in the reading for the eleventh step.
According to this website dedicated to St.Francis, this prayer was almost certainly not written by him. It apparently dates from the early part of the 20th century, and its author is unknown. It was found in Normandy in 1915, written on the back of a holy card of St. Francis. The version that follows is from the "12 and 12" and differs from the original.
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace!
That where there is hatred,
I may bring love.
I may bring love.
That where there is wrong,
I may bring the spirit of forgiveness.
I may bring the spirit of forgiveness.
That where there is discord,
I may bring harmony.
I may bring harmony.
That where there is error,
I may bring truth.
I may bring truth.
That where there is doubt,
I may bring faith.
I may bring faith.
That where there is despair,
I may bring hope.
I may bring hope.
That where there are shadows,
I may bring light.
I may bring light.
That where there is sadness,
I may bring joy.
I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort,
than to be comforted.
than to be comforted.
To understand,
than to be understood.
than to be understood.
To love,
than to be loved.
than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.
Amen.
Anonymous said...
tom c said...