By unknown author[1]
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,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
[1] Copyright Public Domain. Commonly attributed to Francis of Assisi, this prayer likely originated in the early 1900s in France. The first known appearance in its current form occurred in 1912 and the author remains unknown. However, the first portion does have some similarities with a French prayer from around the 11th century. These details and more were uncovered by the scholarship of Dr. Christian Renoux who summarizes his findings in the article “The Origin of the Peace Prayer of St. Francis”. See also his book La prière pour la paix attribuée à saint François: une énigme à résoudre (Paris: Editions franciscaines, 2001).