Most of what I write, and most of what goes through my head can come off as a real downer. Yes, I am interested in the corruption of those in power, particularly as it affects the poor. Yes, I am constantly on a somewhat quixotic mission to use my smallish voice to do my part in calling power to account.
But a large part of why I focus on the issues I do is that I harbor a deep sense of hope and joy. I just think our structures; economical, political and religious, typically do little to bring hope and joy to the poor. That goes for our half a million people without a place to live here in the US as well as the untold number of people who have been impacted all over the world by our dedication to militarism and economic power.
Today though, I wanted to share a prayer that my 5-year-old recited to me at the breakfast table. We were getting ready for a “blessing of the pets” later on in the afternoon by reading about St. Francis of Assisi- the church has a long history of honoring his love of animals and the natural world with just about the cutest ceremony around:
But it’s neck and neck for me to decide what I love the most about St. Francis. While his love for animals and the natural world is something we could use, particularly as climate change threatens our very existence, his solidarity with the poor carves an even deeper place in my heart for the long-deceased saint.
St. Francis took Jesus’ command to the Rich Young Ruler seriously. He abandoned all he had and gave his life for the poor. More than that, he entered in. And even to this day his legacy lives on particularly in the Franciscan tradition as well as the Evangelical tradition I grew up with, not to mention the rest of the church universal. Religion, in this tradition which has so often been a tool for harm, is employed to serve the poor and to liberate our siblings.
And so, I wanted to share his (perhaps apocryphally attributed) prayer:
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we 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. Amen.