First published in 1912 in a French Catholic periodical, this beloved prayer was attributed to Francis of Assisi by tradition. The wording is modern; the spirit is unmistakably Franciscan.
Catholic · Modern (18th c.–today)
Prayer of St. Francis (Peace Prayer)
Lord, make me an instrument of thy 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;
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.