Francis of Assisi (1181/1182-1226) was born to a wealthy cloth merchant but renounced his inheritance to embrace a life of radical poverty and service to the poor. He founded the Franciscan order, received the stigmata two years before his death, and is remembered for his deep love of creation, famously preaching to the birds and composing the Canticle of the Sun in praise of God's creatures.
Prayers to Saint Francis of Assisi
010203
Prayer of Gratitude
GratitudeMost High, all-powerful, good Lord, with Saint Francis of Assisi we lift our hearts in thanksgiving for the gift of this day. He who praised You through Brother Sun and Sister Moon, through Sister Water and Brother Fire, through our Sister Mother Earth, teaches us to see Your goodness in all created things. For the breath in our lungs, the food on our table, the faces of those we love, and the quiet beauty of the world around us, we give You thanks. Saint Francis, troubadour of gratitude, help us to live each day with open hands and a grateful heart, praising God our Lord in all things, and giving Him thanks and serving Him with great humility. Amen.
Prayer for Forgiveness
ForgivenessLord, make me an instrument of Your peace, as Saint Francis of Assisi so often prayed — but before I can carry peace to others, let me first ask for it within my own heart. I hold a wound I have not yet let go of, a hurt I keep returning to instead of releasing into Your mercy. Where there is injury in me, let me sow pardon, as Francis taught; where there is a grudge, let me choose forgiveness, not because the wrong did not matter, but because I no longer wish to carry it. And Lord, for whatever I myself have done to wound another, grant me the humility to seek their forgiveness, and the certainty of Your own mercy, which forgives far more readily than I deserve. Amen.
Prayer of Gratitude for Answered Prayers
GratitudeSaint Francis of Assisi, whose heart overflowed with thanksgiving for every gift, however small, stand beside me now as I come with a prayer that has been answered. I asked, and you interceded, and God in his goodness has granted what I placed before him with so much hope and so many tears. Let me not move on too quickly from this moment, but pause here to recognize his hand and give him the praise he is due. Keep my gratitude from fading once the joy of the answer has settled into ordinary life, and remind me to thank him as faithfully as I once asked him. Help me become, through this answered prayer, someone more trusting for the next request I bring before him. May all I have received turn my heart toward greater love and service of God and neighbor. Amen.
