Pray and reflect with St. Francis of Assisi’s “Prayer of Peace.”
Begin by making a copy of and distributing the following prayer to the students.
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;
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.
Invite the students to read the prayer to themselves, underlining or highlighting anything that stands out to them.
Next, divide the students into small groups and ask them to share with one another what struck them about the prayer. Ask them to read the prayer together and then have a discussion. Use the following questions to guide their discussions.
- What stuck out to you from the prayer? Why?
- In what ways can you emulate the virtues portrayed in this prayer?
- What habits can you build in your day-to-day life to sow love, pardon, faith, hope, light, and joy?
- Are there any parts of the prayer that are difficult to read? Is anything hard to understand?
- What do you think St. Francis means when he says, “it is in dying that we are born to eternal life,” and how can you die to yourself in order to more fully love the Lord?
If you are looking for more ways to encourage your students to pray this prayer, use some of the following activities:
- Print off the prayer and hang it in the classroom
- Pray this prayer to begin or end each class this week
- Encourage students to keep this prayer on their nightstand or in their mirror to pray at the start and end of each day
- Do an artistic activity! Grab some craft supplies and ask students to write the prayer – or their favorite line from the prayer – on the paper. Then decorate and hang them in a special place.
Megan Neuman is an Editorial Curriculum intern at Ave Maria Press. She is a senior English major at Franciscan University.
