Most high, omnipotent, good Lord,
Praise, glory and honor
Praise, glory and honor
and benediction all, are Thine.
To Thee alone do they belong, most High,
And there is no man fit to mention Thee.
Praise be to Thee, my Lord,
with all Thy creatures,
Especially to my worshipful brother sun,
The which lights up the day,
and through him dost Thou brightness give;
And beautiful is he and radiant with splendor great;
Of Thee, most High, signification gives.
Praised be my Lord,
for sister moon and for the stars,
In heaven Thou hast formed them
clear and precious and fair.
Praised be my Lord for brother wind
And for the air and clouds and fair
and every kind of weather,
By the which Thou givest
to Thy creatures nourishment.
Praised be my Lord for sister water,
The which is greatly helpful
and humble and precious and pure.
Praised be my Lord for brother fire,
By the which Thou lightest up the dark.
And fair is he and gay and mighty and strong.
Praised be my Lord
for our sister, mother earth,
Who sustains and keeps us
And brings forth diverse fruits
with grass and flowers bright.
Praised be my Lord
for those who for Thy love forgive
And weakness bear and tribulation.
Blessed those who shall in peace endure,
For by Thee, most High,
shall they be crowned.
Praised be my Lord
for our sister, the bodily death,
From the which no living man can flee.
Woe to them who die in mortal sin;
Blessed those who shall find themselves
in Thy most holy will,
For the second death shall do them no ill.
Praise ye and bless ye my Lord,
and give Him thanks,
And be subject unto Him
with great humility.
"The Canticle of the Sun"
Saint Francis of Assisi
To Thee alone do they belong, most High,
And there is no man fit to mention Thee.
Praise be to Thee, my Lord,
with all Thy creatures,
Especially to my worshipful brother sun,
The which lights up the day,
and through him dost Thou brightness give;
And beautiful is he and radiant with splendor great;
Of Thee, most High, signification gives.
Praised be my Lord,
for sister moon and for the stars,
In heaven Thou hast formed them
clear and precious and fair.
Praised be my Lord for brother wind
And for the air and clouds and fair
and every kind of weather,
By the which Thou givest
to Thy creatures nourishment.
Praised be my Lord for sister water,
The which is greatly helpful
and humble and precious and pure.
Praised be my Lord for brother fire,
By the which Thou lightest up the dark.
And fair is he and gay and mighty and strong.
Praised be my Lord
for our sister, mother earth,
Who sustains and keeps us
And brings forth diverse fruits
with grass and flowers bright.
Praised be my Lord
for those who for Thy love forgive
And weakness bear and tribulation.
Blessed those who shall in peace endure,
For by Thee, most High,
shall they be crowned.
Praised be my Lord
for our sister, the bodily death,
From the which no living man can flee.
Woe to them who die in mortal sin;
Blessed those who shall find themselves
in Thy most holy will,
For the second death shall do them no ill.
Praise ye and bless ye my Lord,
and give Him thanks,
And be subject unto Him
with great humility.
"The Canticle of the Sun"
Saint Francis of Assisi
Countryside near
Assisi, Italy
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;
where
there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
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;
it is in dying that we are born again
to eternal life.
"Prayer of Saint Francis"
"Prayer of Saint Francis"
How little we know
what God has in store
As daily He blesses
our lives more and more.
I've lived many years
and learned many things,
But today I have grown
"new spiritual wings",
For pain has a way
of broadening our view,
And bringing us closer
in sympathy, too,
To those who are living
in constant pain
And trying somehow
to bravely sustain
The faith and endurance
to keep on trying
When they'd almost welcome
the peace of dying.
And without this experience
I would have lived and died
Without fathoming
the pain of Christ crucified,
For none of us know
what pain's all about
Until our
"spiritual wings"
start to sprout.
So, thank You, God,
for the "gift"
You sent
To teach me that pain
is heaven-sent.
"Eagles Wings"
Helen Steiner Rice
"But they who wait
upon the Lord
shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up
with wings like eagles,
they shall run
and not grow weary,
and they shall walk,
and not faint."
Isaiah 40:31
"Therefore then,
since we are surrounded
by so great a cloud of witnesses,
who have borne testimony
to the Truth,
let us strip off
and throw aside
every encumbrance,
and that sin which
so readily clings to
and entangles us,
and let us run with
patient endurance
and steady and active persistence
the appointed course
of the race
that is set before us.
Looking away
from all that will distract
to Jesus
Who is the Leader
and the Source
of our faith
and is also
it's Finisher
bringing it to maturity
and perfection.
He, for the joy
of obtaining the prize
that was set before Him,
endured the cross,
despising and ignoring
the shame,
and is now seated
at the right hand of
the throne of
God.
Just think of
Him Who
endured from sinners
such grievous opposition
and bitter hostility
against Himself,
so that you may
not grow weary
or exhausted,
losing heart,
and relaxing
and fainting
in your minds."
Hebrews 12:1-3
Rocca Maggiore
Assisi Italy
Assisi Italy
Lord,
I am overwhelmed
by the extravagance
of Your love!
For like the sower
in Your parable,
You never looked back
to see where the seed
of Your ministry
was falling.
You knew
that where it
was received,
it would bear fruit
of its own kind.
Thank You,
Holy Spirit,
for preparing my heart
to receive the seeds
of such a lavish
love.
A prayer by
Catherine Marshall
