For the new year (felix faustumque sit omnibus!) I thought I would put up a prayer traditionally said to be by St Francis, though scholars now doubt this. It is certainly in his spirit, and the current most famous Francis would doubtless approve it too. The version above I wrote out for my parents many, many years ago, in the original Italian, which is still the most melodious language I know. I give it here in both tongues:
O Signore, fa' di me un istrumento della tua pace:
Dove è odio, fa' ch'io porti l'amore,
Dove è offesa, fa' ch'io porti lo perdono,
Dove è dubbio, fa' ch'io porti la fede,
Dove è disperazione, fa' ch'io porti la speranza,
Dove è tristezza, fa' ch'io porti la Gioia,
Dove sono le tenebre, fa' ch'io porti la Luce.
O Maestro, fa' ch'io non cerchi tanto
Ad esser consolato, quanto a consolare,
Ad esser compreso, quanto a comprendere,
Ad esser amato, quanto ad amare;
Poiche si è dando che si riceve,
Perdonando che si è perdonato,
Morendo che si risuscita a vita eterna.
O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace:
Where there is hatred, let me bring love,
Where there is offence, let me bring forgiveness,
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith,
Where there is despair, let me bring hope,
Where there is sadness, let me bring Joy,
Where the shadows are, let me bring Light.
O Master, let me not seek so much
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,
In forgiving that we are forgiven,
In dying that we are reborn to life eternal.
May we all remember this, and have it granted!
In fact, if you look up the Wikipedia article "Prayer of St Francis" you will see that its first now-known appearance was in 1912, in French, in a small Catholic paper. However, I like it in the Italian, and I *think* I can see Francis smiling in approval, from somewhere. (What gives away its non-medieval origin, of course, is the word "tristezza", which is definitely modern.)
ReplyDelete