Prayers of St. Francis

The Prayer Before the Crucifix

Most high, glorious God,
Enlighten the darkness of my heart
and give me, Lord, a correct faith,
a certain hope, a perfect charity,
sense and knowledge,
so that I may carry out Your holy and true command.

“My God and My All!”

We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, here
and in all your churches in the whole
world, and we bless you, because by
your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

“Praises of God”

All-powerful, most holy,
most high, and supreme God:
all good, supreme good, totally good,
You who alone are good;
May we give You,
all praise, all glory, all blessing,
and all good things. So be. So be it. Amen.

“The Canticle of Creatures”

 

Most high, all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory,
and the honor and all blessing.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong
and no human is worthy to mention Your name.

Praised be you, my Lord, with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
who is the day, and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor;
and bears a likeness of You, Most High one.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon
and the stars, in heaven You formed them clear
and precious and beautiful.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
And through the air, cloudy and serene,
and every kind of weather, through whom
You give sustenance to Your creatures.

Praised be You, my Lord through Sister water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother fire
through whom You light the night, and he is
beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother
Earth, who sustains and governs us,
And who produces various fruit
with colored flowers and herbs.

Praised be You, my Lord, through those
who give pardon for Your love,
and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed those who endure in peace,
for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord through our Sister Bodily
Death, from whom no one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find
In Your most holy will,
for the second death
shall do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.

Peace 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.
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.

(Attributed to St. Francis.)