Lord, make me a channel of your peace.

Text: 

“Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”   ~unknown

Meditation:  

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me a channel 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.

Reflection:

I have a magnet on my refrigerator that says, “peace. it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” My refrigerator is a place I often go to for comfort. No, not for bodily food, but, for the spiritual food I often need to help ‘quiet the noise’. I generally find it to be blue skies and sunshine with an occasional cloud in Robbieland. Usually, just a word or phrase can reset my negativity button. That’s why my refrigerator is covered with little sayings of love and light. Lately, though, the platitudes don’t seem to be getting it for me. I find I need more solid and worthy directions. That’s where St. Francis comes in. This Prayer of St Francis lives on my refrigerator. There’s a lot going on in this prayer. More than a second or two, so I don’t always get to it when I’m zeroing in on the fridge for enlightenment. This prayer gives me a condition and a solution, one at a time. At any given moment I may feel like I really need something, but, if I see the same need in another and proceed to fulfill it, something mystical happens. I find peace.

Prayer:

Most Holy Spirit, thank you for residing in me and for showing me ways to quiet the noise. Help all of us to know the comfort and peace of your guidance in our hearts and lives. May we all seek to be that which another needs, whenever possible. Please help us to stay strong in the face of these difficult times and willing to present our gifts when they are needed. Amen.

Focus for the Day:  

Lord, make me a channel of your peace.

Author:  Robbie Sawitski