Paraphrase/Our Father

Writing is a means of concretizing and clarifying our ideas and is a mode of expression for our feelings. Francis wrote songs, prayers, poems, and offices for his own edification and for the people around him.

Try to write a prayer, poem or song ... whatever your medium is .... to express the feelings, the faith and the love that is inside you. You might want to just strum the guitar and make up a ballad just as minstrels did in Francis' day. You could just take a small notebook and head for the woods or the park and compose your prayer in the midst of nature. The possibilities are limitless, you should always strive to have some concrete product, no matter what it is.

TOR RESOURCE MANUAL pages 70-79

A paraphrase of
the Our Father

OUR FATHER MOST HOLY,
our creator and redeemer,
our Savior and Consoler.

WHO ARE IN HEAVEN,
in the angels and saints
enlightening them that they
may know you, for you, Lord,
are love, dwelling in them and filling
them with your divinity, that bliss
may be theirs, for you, Lord, are the
highest Good, the eternal Good,
from whom all goodness flows,
without whom nothing is good.

YOUR NAME BE HELD HOLY:
may our knowledge of you
shine ever more clearly within us,
that we may perceive the breadth
of your blessings, the extent of your
promises, the height of your majesty,
the depth of your judgements.

YOUR KINGDOM COME:
rule us now, through grace,
and bring us at last to your
kingdom of light where we
shall see you as you are,
and our love for you
will be made perfect,
our union blissful,
our joy unending, in you.

YOUR WILL BE DONE
ON EARTH AS IN HEAVEN
may we love you
with all our heart,
ever thinking of you;
with all our soul,
ever longing for you;
with all our mind,
directing all our aims to you
and seeking nothing but your glory;
with all our strength,
spending all our energies
and all our senses of soul and body
to serve only your love and nothing else.

May we love our neighbors as ourselves;
drawing them all to your love
in so far as we can,
sharing their good fortune
as if it were our own,
helping them to bear their trials
and doing them no wrong.

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD:
your beloved Son
our Lord Jesus Christ,
that we may remember,
understand and revere
the love he showed for us,
and all he said and did
and suffered for our sake.

FORGIVE US OUR SINS
through your mercy beyond words,
through the power of the passion
of your beloved Son,
through the merits and intercession
of the Virgin Mary
and of all your chosen ones.

AS WE FORGIVE THOSE
WHO SIN AGAINST US
and that we ourselves
cannot fully forgive,
make us fully forgive;
make us love our enemies,
truly, for your sake;
teach us how to pray sincerely
to you on their behalf;
and not to render harm for harm
to anyone, but rather try
to do good to all, in you!

AND LEAD US NOT
INTO TEMPTATION
whether veiled or visible,
sudden or searing and prolonged.

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL
past, present and to come.  Amen