One of my dear friend's experienced the passing of a parent while we were in our senior year of high school. Her father had battled MS for many years and the Lord finally saw fit to take him home.
Weeks and months following the funeral, I found myself driving out to the cemetery where he was buried. The silence provided a calm and appropriate place to pray. Needless to say, Chicago is not quite as quiet as that cemetery, so it is a favorite piece of any Texas visit to go back to that silent place and hear peace and rest.
My last visit, just a few days ago, there was a fresh grave--that of one who must have been a beautiful and wonderful woman. Among the mass of flowers and farewell gifts was a small cross that had this favorite prayer inscribed on it. Read it slowly.
Lord Yahweh,
Make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light; and
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.
(written by Saint Francis of Assisi)
1 comment:
That is beautiful . . .
Post a Comment