Monthly Prayer Practice

 One of the world’s most beloved peace prayers is the prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, which begins, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love . . .”

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With thanks and apologies to good St. Francis, I would like to share my version of his prayer for the current world situation:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there are falsehoods, let me sow truth;
where there is worry, calm;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is trepidation, courage;
where there is loneliness, friendship;
where there is uncertainty, faith.
O divine One, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be free from fear as to relieve fear;
to be healthy as to live in healthy ways.
For it is in giving compassion that we receive compassion, it is in reaching out to others that our hearts are embraced, and it is in dying to yesterday that we can arise today.

-Deb Patterson

The Reverend Dr. Deborah Patterson, recently retired pastor of Smyrna (Canby) United Church of Christ, is now serving as an Oregon State Senator.