Dear Editor,
Friday was the anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s death in 1226.
He was a loving, quiet, gentle soul who found the presence and majesty of God in nature. I love spending my time finding the love of God there, as well. This is a choice. One of my favourite songs is one of his prayers:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that I receive,
it is in self-forgetting that I find, it is in pardoning that I am pardoned,
and in dying that I am raised to eternal life.
In honour of St. Francis, spend some time this week walking in nature, observing plants and animals, discovering the majesty of God there. That is your free gift. Open your heart and hands to receive it.
Annette Cooper
~Image from Aram Pano on Pexels