St.
Francis Of Assisi And Me
by Lisa Hepner
The tragedy of September 11th and the
current crisis in the Middle East have caused many of us to search for
peace. How do we create world peace?
Gandhi said, “be the change you wish to
see.” Many of us are learning that in order to create world peace,
we have to BE peace. So then, the question becomes, how do we as
individuals truly BE peaceful?
Well, we could learn from the past.
St. Francis of Assisi taught us a lot about being peaceful by way of
example. Yet, somehow we all too often get caught up in reactive
mode, which is the opposite of true peace.
I’m guilty of this myself. I
normally like to think of myself as a peaceful person, but there are
moments like when my mom calls, that I struggle to find inner peace.
I normally answer the phone very chipper, and then I hear this nagging
voice on the other end, and realize that it’s my mother calling to nag
me about how my life didn’t turn out the way SHE planned. Nag,
nag, nag, nag, nag, is all I hear. I try to say things in my
defense, but it falls on deaf ears. Then when I get off the phone I
am totally sapped of energy.
“Oh, dear God,” I would pray, “help
me find peace.” Yet, no matter what I did I couldn’t find peace in the
situation.
Recently I watched a biography of St.
Francis of Assisi called Brother Sun, Sister Moon. I really enjoyed
learning more about this patron saint of peace. The peace prayer of
St. Francis of Assisi is beautiful, so I wanted to find out about this
saint who I felt could help me be more peaceful.
St. Francis of Assisi had renounced his
life as the son of a wealthy cloth merchant and went to live with the
beggars and lepers. They rebuilt an old church outside the city
limits. St. Francis of Assisi (Francesco) then was free to spend his
days frolicking in nature and communicating with animals and with God.
But one day while Francesco was out in
nature, a villager came and set fire to the church. Some beggars and
lepers, who happened to see the man fleeing the site, pounced upon him and
killed him. When Francesco returned and saw his church on fire, the
beggars and lepers standing around and the man dead on the ground.
He wasn’t filled with anger. He didn’t react.
He didn’t respond with “you morons, I
was only gone for 30 minutes.” He didn’t yell, he didn’t jump
to conclusions. He fell to his knees and prayed. He said,
“dear God, help me to understand. Help me to understand how
someone could be so full of hatred, so full of anger that they could do
this to another person.” That was the beauty of St. Francis of
Assisi; he sought not to be understood, but to UNDERSTAND.
The essence of St. Francis of Assisi is
alive today through his words.
The peace prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
goes like this,
“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 darkness, light
Where there is sadness, joy
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.
It is in dying, that we are born to eternal life.”
Well, that’s beautiful, but how can I be
peaceful and promote world peace, when I can’t even get along with my
mother?
The answer lies in the words of St. Francis
of Assisi.
The first key is the willingness. The willingness to be peaceful.
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” I repeat this first
sentence a few times to myself when I am in a situation that is causing me
turmoil. I breathe into the words. And somehow, through that
mantra, I find I am willing to find the peace in the situation. Then
I respond from that place of centeredness.
Second, “seek not to be understood, but
to understand.” Seek to understand someone else’s viewpoint,
reference. Try to understand their pain, or their intent.
Before, when my mom used to call, I would get defensive and start saying
that I did this or that. It was all about me… “I, I, I…”
One day my mom called, I picked up the
phone in my chipper voice. I heard her start nagging. I said
the mantra, “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace,” a few times.
Then I said, “Mom, did I ever thank you?” She stopped nagging.
“I wanted to thank you for loving me so much.” She was delighted
and the rest of the conversation was fine.
Now, instead of viewing my mom as the
perpetual nag, I think about the fact that she loves me so much.
Next time you’re in a situation that is
not peaceful, try listening to St. Francis of Assisi. First, be
willing to be peaceful and to see peace. “Lord, make me an instrument of
they peace.” Then, try to understand the other person’s
viewpoint. Put yourself in his/her shoes. See if those two
things help you be more peaceful.
Because St. Francis of Assisi, said that
“while we can proclaim peace with our lips, be sure to have it more
fully in your heart.”
With these two keys, I believe we can
actually exemplify peace, and truly BE the change we wish to see.
__________________
Lisa Hepner is the author of Peaceful
Earth: Spiritual Perspectives on Hope and Healing Beyond Terrorism
which contains insights on 9/11 from famous spiritual authors. For
more information see www.peacefulearth.org.
She is also a chaplain at the Living Enrichment Center in Wilsonville,
Oregon.