Peace Prayer

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

From: The Franciscan Archive

Origin of this Prayer

The first appearance of the Peace Prayer occurred in France in 1912 in a small spiritual magazine called La Clochette (The Little Bell). It was published in Paris by a Catholic association known as La Ligue de la Sainte-Messe (The Holy Mass League), founded in 1901 by a French priest, Father Esther Bouquerel (1855-1923). The prayer bore the title of 'Belle pri�re � faire pendant la messe' (A Beautiful Prayer to Say During the Mass), and was published anonymously. The author could possibly have been Father Bouquerel himself, but the identity of the author remains a mystery.

The prayer was sent in French to Pope Benedict XV in 1915 by the French Marquis Stanislas de La Rochethulon. This was soon followed by its 1916 appearance, in Italian, in L'Osservatore Romano [the Vatican's daily newspaper]. Around 1920, the prayer was printed by a French Franciscan priest on the back of an image of St. Francis with the title 'Pri�re pour la paix' (Prayer for Peace) but without being attributed to the saint. Between the two world wars, the prayer circulated in Europe and was translated into English. Its has been attributed the first time to saint Francis in 1927 by a French Protestant Movement, Les Chevaliers du Prince de la Paix (The Knights of the Prince of Peace), founded by �tienne Bach (1892-1986).

The first translation in English that we know of appeared in 1936 in Living Courageously, a book by Kirby Page (1890-1957), a Disciple of Christ minister, pacifist, social evangelist, writer and editor of The World Tomorrow (New York City). Page clearly attributed the text to St. Francis of Assisi. During World War II and immediately after, this prayer for peace began circulating widely as the Prayer of St. Francis, specially through Francis cardinal Spellman's books, and over the years has gained a worldwide popularity with people of all faiths.

For more information : see the book by Dr. Christian Renoux, La pri�re pour la paix attribu�e � saint Fran�ois : une �nigme � r�soudre, Paris, Editions franciscaines, 2001, 210 p. : 12.81 euros + shipping (ISBN : 2-85020-096-4). -- Order From: �ditions franciscaines, 9, rue Marie-Rose F-75014 Paris.

Original Text of the Peace Prayer of St. Francis

Belle pri�re � faire pendant la Messe
Seigneur, faites de moi un instrument de votre paix.
L� o� il y a de la haine, que je mette l'amour.
L� o� il y a l'offense, que je mette le pardon.
L� o� il y a la discorde, que je mette l'union.
L� o� il y a l'erreur, que je mette la v�rit�.
L� o� il y a le doute, que je mette la foi.
L� o� il y a le d�sespoir, que je mette l'esp�rance.
L� o� il y a les t�n�bres, que je mette votre lumi�re.
L� o� il y a la tristesse, que je mette la joie.

� Ma�tre, que je ne cherche pas tant � �tre consol� qu'� consoler, � �tre compris qu'� comprendre, � �tre aim� qu'� aimer, car c'est en donnant qu'on re�oit, c'est en s'oubliant qu'on trouve, c'est en pardonnant qu'on est pardonn�, c'est en mourant qu'on ressuscite � l'�ternelle vie.

Source: La Clochette, n� 12, d�c. 1912, p. 285.