I have had this prayer of St. Francis for a while. I invite you to read it, to ruminate on it and then to comment…
You are holy, Lord, the only God,and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong.
You are great.
You are the Most High.
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good,Lord God, living and true.
You are love.
You are wisdom.
You are humility.
You are endurance.
You are rest.
You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
You are beauty.You are gentleness.
You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender.
You are our courage.
You are our haven and our hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful Lord,God Almighty, Merciful Saviour.
6 comments:
I needed to read this tonight. I needed to proclaim who God is to me...and to those I love. I often forget and them am reminded of who God is...he is all things. I love God more and more, even through gross battles...which reminds me the path I have chosen is one of total trust in God...and the importance of proclaiming who He is in my life and really knowing it deep in my heart. That the battle is not against flesh and blood but of spiritual principalities.
It is intersting...how we are told to watch what we say...and am reminded when I pray or proclaim things verbally that I can sense and feel something is happening in the spiritual realm.
Thanks for this reminder...this prayer, this proclamation!
What strikes me about this prayer is the progression in it. The prayer starts off with adoration phrases that are focused more on God’s deity – Holy, God most high, King of Heaven. Then the focus changes to characteristics of God that we also have and want as humans – love, wisdom, humility. And then things we might ask God to do for us – protector, defender, give us courage.
A couple things resonate with me about that. The first is that I wonder if there is an implied request (albeit an honorable one) in there somewhere. By saying that God is protector is St. Francis asking for protection? The second thing is related to the first. I am reminded that often the answer to my prayers can be in reminding myself Who God is.
I think this would be a great prayer when you have run out of things to say...
Adiano10,
It is truly a sad world where we only do what we need.
Adriano10,
Here's my point in more than thirteen words. There are lots of things that we don't need to have, need to do, or need to be. But, many of those things are both permissible and enjoyable. Maybe you are right that there is no need for repetition in prayer according to scripture (although, there's no doubt that some forms of repetition are symbols of devotion and honour). However, perhaps when someone repeats various phrases, it makes them feel comfortable. If this is the case and it is also the case that God isn't annoyed that someone repeats herself, then I don't know what the problem is. In that case, it looks like the result is that the prayer is more relaxed and comfortable. This seems like a good thing to me.
You say that there is no NEED for repetition. That sounds to me like you are saying that there is no scriptural obligation for repetition. If that's what you are saying then it should be clear that that is consistent with someone repeating themselves. (If this isn't clear, then ask me and I'll spell it out with examples.) Also, you say: "it is not a matter of wanting to do more when it makes no difference." The difference that I pointed out above is that the person who is praying turns out to be more comfortable, That seems like a positive difference to me.
Now on a different topic. In your last paragraph you said something that I take to be rather insulting. In that paragraph you said that my comments are usually "smart". You used the scare quotes around 'smart'. Scare quotes indicate that your use of the word is exagerated or non-literal. If I were speaking the sentence that you wrote, 'smart' would be pronounced with an emphasized tone and maybe a sarcastic edge. THAT is what scare quotes do. So, I hope it is clear why I found that paragraph insulting.
Adriano10 and Mark B...best of friends.
Anonymous... so, ... anonymous
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