A lot of sentimentality surrounds Francesco Bernardone of Assisi. What that means is that he attracted -- and attracts -- much unsophisticated affection, which is a Good Thing. He wrote the Canticle to the Sun, and a few other texts, but scholars do not believe he wrote the one below, often attributed to him. My own feeling is that the word "tristezza" gives the game away: it seems 19th-century at the earliest. But on the other hand, it is not attributed to St Francis for nothing: it reflects his spirit perfectly, and is satisfying, moving, and inspiring (though monumentally more difficult to put into practice than its exquisite sound makes it seem -- but then, Italian is the planet's most seductive language). Let's say that he would certainly have written it had he thought of it.
Oh Signore, fa' di me un’istrumento della tua pace
dove è odio, fa' ch' io porti l'amore
dove è offesa, ch' io porti il perdono,
dove è discordia, ch' io porti l'unione,
dove è dubbio, ch' io porti la fede,
dove è errore, ch' io porti la verità,
dove è disperazione, ch' io porti la speranza,
dove è tristezza, ch' io porti la gioia,
dove sono le tenebre, ch' io porti la luce.
Maestro, fa' ch' io non cerchi tanto
di essere consolato, quanto di consolare,
di essere compreso, quanto di comprendere,
di essere amato, quanto di amare.
Perchè si è dando, che si riceve,
perdonando, che si è perdonati,
morendo, che si resuscita a vita eterna.
Oh, make me, Lord, an instrument of Thy peace
where there is hatred, let me bring love,
where there is offence, let me bring forgiveness,
where there is discord, let me bring unity,
where there is doubt, let me bring faith,
where there is error, let me bring truth,
where there is despair, let me bring hope,
where there is sadness, let me bring joy,
where the shadows are, let me bring the light.
Master, make 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 rise to life eternal.
The image is by Giotto (1267-1337): 'St Francis preaching to the birds' in the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi.
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