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St. Francis, Channel of Peace

by Traute Klein, biogardener

Man longs for happiness. Man longs for peace. Peace of mind, peace with ourselves, peace with the creator and his creation. To me that longing is the basis of happiness. The western world's foremost champion of that kind of peace is the man who is best known to us as the monk who preached the gospel to animals.

We celebrate St. Francis Day on October 4, and on the first Sunday in October, we celebrate a St. Francis Service in Winnipeg. We bring our pets to Holy Trinity Anglican church for a lively service of music and blessings in the sanctuary and a pet food feast in the church hall. Many priests take part in the service and one of them even makes home visits to pets which cannot be brought to church, for example a large python.

St. Francis was introduced to me in the words of a prayer he wrote, a prayer which has been prayed and sung in many churches.

Francis of Assisi was not always a saint. He did not always pursue peace. Far from it. If he had lived in the 20th century, he would have been a member of a militant group. He belonged to the worst gang of his day. Itching for battle, he joined in the fight against Assisi's rival, the city of Peruvia. If he had not been of noble birth, he would have been slaughtered by the enemy and we would never have heard his name. Since his aristocratic family could be expected to pay ransom, he was taken prisoner instead.

The experience did not change his way of life. To satisfy his craving for heroism, he joined a crusade to the Holy Land. He didn't get very far. This time, he was taken prisoner by God who spoke to him in a dream which initiated his conversion. Instead of being remembered for heroic exploits, we now think of him as the gentle saint who ministered to the downtrodden and showed love to all of God's creation. The feast day of St. Francis falls on October 4, one day after his death.

The prayer of St. Francis has been set to music by Sebastian Temple, a Catholic monk with a versatile music ministry. It has become a favorite song of the second half of the 20th century. Through this song, St. Francis' message of peace is still heard in every Christian denomination and even in non-Christian services. The words are acceptable to any religion. If you know the melody, you will want to sing along with this prayer.

The Prayer of St. Francis

Francis of Assisi, Italy, 1182–1226
Text adapted by Sebastian Temple

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow your love,
where there is injury, your pardon, Lord,
and where there's doubt, new faith in you.

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there's despair in life, let me bring hope,
where there is darkness, only light,
and where there's sadness, ever joy.

O Master, grant that I may never seek
so much to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
in giving to all men that we receive,
and in dying that we are born to eternal life.