Prayer for Peace of Saint Francis of Assisi

Although commonly attributed to Francis of Assisi (1181/2-1226 A.D.), the prayer itself cannot be traced back later than 1912 when it appeared in a French magazine entitled, La Clochette (The Little Bell).

The earliest English translation, reproduced below, was printed anonymously in the Quaker periodical Friends' Intelligencer.

(Wikisource)

A prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

"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

And it's in pardoning that we are pardoned

And it's in dying that we are born to Eternal Life

Amen!"