Marta Sniezko
Lord, Make Me…
It is said that St Francis of Assisi if the most known Catholic Saint in the world, to both Catholic and non-Catholic people. Most people know him for his love of nature and animals. Many also remember him as the one with the Stigmata. But I wanted to share with you what brought me closest to this amazing saint. His famous prayer, “The Peace 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
And 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
This prayer basically sums up life’s goals and the purpose for us to be on this earth. And ultimately, if I follow this recipe, I will find peace in my life.
The part in the prayer where he says, “Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,” hits me every time. So many times, I think that I need someone to make me feel better, that I need a shoulder to lean on, that I need someone to hear me out. Yes, it may be true, but I need to see that there is something more important than that. That there may be a person around me that maybe needs that consolation a little more than I do, or that understanding a little more than I do. Now don’t get me wrong, St Francis did not write to never be consoled, but “not so much seek to be consoled”. In other words, he is stressing the fact that I need to be more concentrated on others’ needs rather than my own. Not to ignore my needs, but to put them second.
One would ask, “But why? What do I get out of that?” Well, the answer is in the next part of his prayer. “For it is in giving that we receive… pardoning that we are pardoned… dying that we are born to eternal life.” Isn’t that ironic? By doing one thing, we receive the opposite in return! Amazing how our Lord works! By placing myself after others’ needs, I am hitting two birds with one stone.
I remember as a child, when my parents would take me to Church on All Saints Day, for example, and tell me about certain indulgences that were granted to us if we say certain prayers and such. My mom would tell me that you can either use the indulgence for yourself or offer it for a soul in purgatory so they can get to Heaven. For me it was common sense to offer it for a soul! I would think that if a soul got to Heaven because of a prayer I said, that this soul would be my best friend forever and pray for me too, so I get to Heaven. It was like a 2 for 1 sale in my childhood brain. Two people in Heaven instead of one!
Now of course, remember, I was only a child. But I hope it helped get my point across. By attending to others’ needs before my own, I can get that 2 for 1 blessing, too! And that is what St Francis has taught me in this prayer.
So hopefully, as we celebrate his upcoming feast day, St Francis can help us become less self-centered and more attentive to others around me needing all different kinds of help. So that our eyes can be open to all the opportunities to get those 2 for 1 blessing!
St Francis of Assisi, pray for us!
