Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Although I can no longer call myself christian, I still love the prayer of St. Francis:

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.

I have always felt that it summed up our mission here on Earth; spirits having a human experience.


Leave safety behind. Put your body on the line. Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind -- even if your voice shakes. When you least expect it, someone may actually listen to what you have to say. - Maggie Kuhn