Jon M. Sweeney - Lord, Make Me An Instrument of Your Peace: The Complete Prayers of St. Francis and St. Clare, with Selections from Brother Juniper, St. Anthony of Padua, and Other Early Franciscans

Lord, Make Me
an Instrument
of Your Peace

Lord, Make Me
an Instrument
of Your Peace

THE COMPLETE PRAYERS OF ST. FRANCIS & ST. CLARE,

WITH SELECTIONS FROM

BROTHER JUNIPER, ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA, AND OTHER EARLY FRANCISCANS

JON M. SWEENEY

First Printing 2020

Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace: The Complete Prayers of St. Francis and St. Clare, with Selections from Brother Juniper, St. Anthony of Padua, and Other Early Franciscans

Copyright 2020 by Jon M. Sweeney

Portions of this book were previously published in The St. Francis Prayer Book (2004), The St. Clare Prayer Book (2007), and The St. Francis Holy Fool Prayer Book (2017). The first remains largely unchanged; the second with deletions and additions; and the third substantially different here than originally published.

Unless otherwise noted, quotations from the Gospels and other parts of the New Testament are taken from The New Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd., and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc., and used by permission of the publisher; Scripture from the Psalms taken from the Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church according to the use of the Episcopal Church, copyright 1979 The Church Hymnal Corp., NY; Scripture from the songs, canticles, and prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-64060-146-8

The Paraclete Press name and logo (dove on cross) and the San Damiano Books logo are trademarks of Paraclete Press, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Sweeney, Jon M., 1967- author.

Title: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace : the complete prayers of St. Francis and St. Clare, with selections from Brother Juniper, St. Anthony of Padua, and other early Franciscans / Jon M. Sweeney.

Description: Brewster, Massachusetts : San Damiano Books, Paraclete Press, 2020. | Summary: This prayer book gathers the stories and words of the prayer life and prayers of these remarkable Christians-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019043196 | ISBN 9781640601468 (trade paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: Franciscans--Spiritual life. | Prayers. | Francis, of Assisi, Saint, 1182-1226. | Clare, of Assisi, Saint, 1194-1253.

Classification: LCC BX3603 .S94 2020 | DDC 242/.802--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019043196

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, tored in an electronic retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published by Paraclete Press

Brewster, Massachusetts

www.paracletepress.com

Printed in the United States of America

My Father still goes on working, and I am at work, too.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, in St. Johns Gospel (5:17)

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

W e do not immediately associate Francis and Clare with prayer and praying. That is not how we typically imagine them in the world. It is easier to see them giving away their possessions, setting doves free, counseling wolves, bandaging lepers wounds, mediating between people, begging for their bread, preaching to birds, or singing religious poetry accompanied by lute and lyre.

St. Francis, according to the most common legends, rarely sat still. St. Clare did more so, but that was probably mostly because of the convent and the grille and the conventions of the time: she couldnt be a walkabout friar.

However, they did sit still. And they stood. And they danced. And they fasted. And they sang. In all these ways, Francis and Clare prayed for hours each day, as did the brothers and sisters who came after them on the Franciscan way.

This prayer book gathers the stories and words of the prayer life and prayers of these remarkable Christians. Their charism was unique in its time, and it remains a reservoir and a river flowing through the centuries, reviving the life and spirit of the church and its people. May it be so for you wherever you are, wherever it finds you, and in however you incorporate these ways and words into your life for God.

Francis said to his friars, Listen to what I say, (Acts 2:14 NRSV). Whoever is from God hears the words of God (John 8:47 NRSV).

ONE

St. Francis

Begin a Life of Conversion

I

THE PRAYER LIFE of FRANCIS OF ASSISI

First, a Story

Francis and Leo Cannot Agree in Responsive Prayer

F rancis was out walking one day with Brother Leo, his closest friend and companion, when it came time to pray the Divine Office. It was in the earliest days of Franciss new movement, when the brothers lived in the utmost simplicity; for this reason, and given their remote location, Francis and Leo had no books at hand when the hour for Morning Prayer had come.

Francis said to Leo, Since we do not have a breviary with us, but it is still important that we spend time praising God, let us create something new.

I will speak and you will answer, as I teach you. I will say O Brother Francis, you have done so many sins and evils in this world. You are deserving of hell.

And you, Leo, will respond, So it is, Francis, you deserve the lowest depths of hell.

Brother Leo nodded that he understood and gave Francis assurances of his perfect obedience. Let us begin, Father, he agreed.

And so Francis began the new liturgy. He said, You have done so many sins and evils in this world, Brother Francis, that you are deserving of hell.

But God will work through you so much good, Leo replied earnestly, that surely you will go to paradise.

No, no, no, Francis said, that is not right. When I say my part, you must say as I have instructed you, repeating, You are worthy only to be set among the cursed in the depths of hell. Again, in obedience, Brother Leo replied, Willingly, Father.