Every year, as my birthday approaches, my spirit returns to the Prayer of St. Francis whose feast day is Oct 04.
I know that many of my brothers and sisters in the Ether are not Catholic, but I ask you all to consider this beautiful 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.
Amen.

One need not be Catholic to appreciate the Prayer of St. Francis. Myosho-ji Wonderful Voice Buddhist Temple in Charlotte, NC includes the Prayer of St. Francis in their service book because, in the words of their priest, “it fits nicely with our basic Buddhist ideals and can provide us with a prayer to reach across beliefs, and differences.”
Amen, amen!
Great poem, and Happy B-day.
thanks!