Wednesday, October 04, 2006

A Franciscan Blessing



May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

Amen.

P.S. That would be CoCo and Lenny, the Preppy Pups, getting ready for their annual Blessing on Sunday at 5 PM in the Arnot-Pring Memorial Garden at St. Paul's Church.
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousFri Aug 05, 12:05:00 AM

    This prayer was composed approximately 25 years ago by Sr. Ruth Fox, OSB. She is Benedictine, not Franciscan.

    In the last couple of years it, or variations of it, has frequently appeared on the web attributing it to St. Francis of Assisi or the Franciscans, the latest being
    http://datinggod.org/2011/05/30/a-franciscan-prayer-for-memorial-day/

    When I first saw this happening, I located Sister Ruth and asked her if she indeed were the prayer's author. She replied saying

    “You are absolutely correct. I am the author of that prayer. I composed it in the spring of 1985 or thereabouts. I was chaplain at the Catholic Student Center at Dickinson State University, Dickinson, ND, and was asked to provide the Benediction for a graduation breakfast. It was totally original. I had never seen a similar prayer by Francis. It would be a great coincidence if there was a similar one.”

    I ask you please to credit Sr. Ruth and give it a Benedictine attribution.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elizabeth KaetonFri Aug 05, 07:26:00 PM

    I think you just did, "Anonymous". Next time, please leave your name.

    ReplyDelete

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