Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is offence, let me bring pardon. Where there is discord, let me bring union. Where there is error, let me bring truth. Where there is doubt, let me bring faith. Where there is despair, let me bring hope. Where there is darkness, let me bring your light. Where there is sadness, let me bring joy. O Master, let me not seek as much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love, for it is in giving that one receives, it is in self-forgetting that one finds, it is in pardoning that one is pardoned, it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.
The first time I heard of St. Francis was during Sunday mass when the priest at my old church told us the story about God asking him to rebuild his church. In the story St. Francis had thought God was referring to the building itself, so he spent enormous amounts of time literally rebuilding it. When he finished he sang to the heavens telling God of his deed, but when God looked upon his work he said to him: “I asked you to rebuild my church. You have built me a house. But where are my people?” For some reason I can’t seem to find anyone telling that story. Am I remembering this wrong, because I think it really shines light on the idea that the church is so much more than just a building, it is a community of people who come together to aid in one another’s journey towards God.
