Here is a beautiful prayer I came upon last year from the patron saint of animals and the environment, St. Francis Assisi. St. Francis was a friar who became known for his radical life of selflessness, denial of worldly possessions, and inclusive love.

“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.

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.”

May this prayer be an encouragement to your heart and a reminder of the peace and love that we can still give during a season of anxiety and fear.

Picture: St. Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds (oil on panel) by Giotto di Bondone (c.1266-1337)