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Saint Francis of Assisi
Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor, and all blessing,
To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no human is worthy to mention Your name.
Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor;
and bears a likeness of You, Most High One.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather,
through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night,
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us,
and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.
Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love,
and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace
for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
From whom no one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.
Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.
Texts from Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Vol. 1, The Saint; Vol. 2, The Founder; Vol. 3, The Prophet. Used with permission. Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, Franciscan Institute of St. Bonaventure, New York. Published by New City Press, 202 Cardinal Rd., Hyde Park, NY 12538 (www.newcitypress.com).
Wendell Berry
The clearing rests in song and shade.
It is a creature made
By old light held in soil and leaf,
By human joy and grief,
By human work,
Fidelity of sight and stroke,
By rain, by water on
The parent stone.
We join our work to Heavens gift,
Our hope to what is left,
That field and woods at last agree
In an economy
Of widest worth.
High Heavens Kingdom come on earth.
Imagine Paradise.
O dust, arise!
Copyright 1999 by Wendell Berry, from A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems, 19791997. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
The following abbreviations are used for the books of the Bible:
THE OLD TESTAMENT
Genesis. Gen
Exodus. Ex
LeviticusLev
NumbersNum
Deuteronomy.. Deut
Joshua.. Josh
JudgesJudg
Ruth. Ruth
1 Samuel. 1 Sam
2 Samuel. 2 Sam
1 Kings.. 1 Kings
2 Kings.. 2 Kings
1 Chronicles1 Chr
2 Chronicles2 Chr
EzraEzra
Nehemiah.. Neh
EstherEsth
JobJob
Psalms.. Ps
Proverbs.. Prov
Ecclesiastes. Eccl
Song of SolomonSong
Isaiah. Isa
Jeremiah.. Jer
LamentationsLam
Ezekiel. Ezek
Daniel.. Dan
HoseaHos
Joel.. Joel
Amos.. Am
Obadiah. Ob
Jonah.. Jon
Micah. Mic
Nahum. Nah
Habakkuk.. Hab
Zephaniah. Zeph
Haggai.. Hag
Zechariah.. Zech
Malachi. Mal
THE NEW TESTAMENT
Matthew. Mt
Mark.. Mk
Luke.. Lk
John.. Jn
Acts of the ApostlesActs
Romans.. Rom
1 Corinthians. 1 Cor
2 Corinthians. 2 Cor
Galatians.. Gal
EphesiansEph
Philippians.. Phil
ColossiansCol
1 Thessalonians. 1 Thess
2 Thessalonians. 2 Thess
1 Timothy.. 1 Tim
2 Timothy.. 2 Tim
TitusTitus
PhilemonPhilem
Hebrews.. Heb
James. Jas
1 Peter. 1 Pet
2 Peter. 2 Pet
1 John.. 1 Jn
2 John.. 2 Jn
3 John.. 3 Jn
JudeJude
RevelationRev
In the notes to the books of the Old Testament, the following abbreviations are used:
AntJosephus, Antiquities of the Jews
Aram..Aramaic
Ch, chsChapter, chapters