Prayer of Saint Francis — Make Me an Instrument of Peace

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 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. This is the Peace Prayer attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi. He may not have written it himself; the earliest version dates from the early twentieth century. But the spirit of it is pure Francis. The little poor man of Assisi who left his wealthy father's house, embraced lepers, preached to birds, made friends with a wolf, and reformed the Church not by argument but by becoming Christlike.