“A New Peace Prayer”

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In January, Pope Francis delivered a paraphrase of the Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. I have copied it below, and will be writing a series of blog posts in response to it over the next couple of weeks.

"Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Help us to recognize the evil latent in a communication 
 that does not build communion.
Help us to remove venom from our judgements.
Help us to speak about others as our brothers and sisters.
You are faithful and trustworthy;
  may our words be seeds of goodness for the world:
  where there is shouting, let us practice listening;
  where there is confusion, let us inspire harmony;
  where there is ambiguity, let us bring clarity;
  where there is exclusion, let us offer solidarity;
  where there is sensationalism, let us use sobriety;
  where there is superficiality, let us raise real questions;
  where there is prejudice, let us awaken trust;
  where there is hostility, let us bring respect;
  where there is falsehood, let us bring truth.
Amen"


6 thoughts on ““A New Peace Prayer”

  1. Thank you, Elizabeth. I have been praying to St. Francis how can I continue to follow his Peace prayer. This may be the answer to my prayers. Perpetua

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  2. This is so beautiful. For skeptics, agnostics, cynics and believers alike, this prayer touches the core of our human existence. It inspires us to be humane, tolerant and to be a better people.

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