Prayer of Peace
The following prayer was first published anonymously in Paris (1912) in a small, spiritual magazine called The Little Bell by a Catholic association known as “The Holy Mass League, founded by a French priest, Father Esther Bouquerel (1855-1923). It was widely publicized during World Wars I & II, and has frequently been used since then to encourage peace throughout the world. While widely attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi the words of it never appear in any of his writings.
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 despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, 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; and it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.