Prayers
Pray with Francis and Clare
Prayer is the heartbeat of the Franciscan life — not an obligation, but a conversation. These prayers invite us into that same conversation.
The 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.
Canticle of the Creatures
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.
Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and beautiful.
— St. Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Creatures (c. 1224)
Written near the end of his life, the Canticle of the Creatures is one of the oldest known works of Italian literature — and a prayer of extraordinary beauty. Francis praised God through every element of creation: the sun and moon, wind and water, fire and earth, and finally through Sister Death herself.
Franciscan Month celebrates the Franciscan way of life, educates others about this way, and offers a prayerful perspective on living Franciscan in today’s world.
“I entreat all my friars, ministers, and subjects to put away every attachment, all care and solicitude, and serve, love, honor, and adore our Lord and God with a pure heart and mind.”
