top of page

The Prayer Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi

​

 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is offence, let me bring pardon. Where there is discord, let me bring union. Where there is error, let me bring truth. Where there is doubt, let me bring faith. Where there is despair, let me bring hope. Where there is darkness, let me bring your light. Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.


O Lord, 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 one receives, it is in self-forgetting that one finds, it is in forgiving that one is forgiven, it is in dying that one awakens to eternal life.

Amen.

Moving Forward Meditations

Search

Moving Forward - 5 March 2025

    WEDNESDAY, March 5, Ash Wednesday


    Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near.


    Growing up in the American South, I know something about trumpets or sirens. Severe weather being what it is in that part of the country, the intonation of a tornado siren or the tone of a weather radio becomes a part of your psyche. You know that it is time to stop and listen.


    Ash Wednesday is the day we stop. Like a trumpet or alarm, this is a time to put aside our daily routine and focus on God’s call, which is always for us to return. This return is facilitated by seeing where we went astray in the first place. Just as our weather radios and tornado sirens prompt us to pay attention and seek shelter, the prophet Isaiah reminds us that our shelter is found in God: “In returning and rest you shall be saved.”


    MOVING FORWARD: How will you heed the alarm to stop and listen to God?



    (Source: Forward Day By Day Movement)

     
     
     

    Moving Forward - 4 March 2025

      TUESDAY, March 4


      Hebrew 2:1-3a Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?


      Being attentive at all times has often been a struggle for me. While I don’t have an ADHD or ADD diagnosis, I do find my attention wandering from thing to thing pretty frequently. 

      Dwindling attention spans are another marker of our time, as the average adult’s attention span clocks in at about 8.25 seconds. This means some of you will stop reading about now. 


      I love the moment inside the eucharistic prayers when the sanctus bells sound. The ringing acts as a splash of water to our otherwise distracted minds, snapping us back to attend to the mystery. The bells ask us if we are paying attention. I hope that we are. I hope I am always attentive to the varied mysteries constantly passing before my eyes. 


      MOVING FORWARD: Take time away from digital distractions today and watch for God.



      (Source: Forward Day By Day Movement)

       
       
       

      Moving Forward - 3 March 2025


        Deuteronomy 6:13-14 The Lord your God you shall fear; him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear. Do not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who are all around you.


        Have you ever loved another person so much that it terrified you? The irrational love we can have for a spouse, a partner, or a child can be so intense and overwhelming that it might make us feel justifiably frightened.


        If this is a fraction of how deeply God loves us, it’s no wonder that love might seem frightening. Scripture teaches us that God has created us for God alone and no other. God’s love, desire, and passion for us are fiercer than any fire and burn hotter than any human affection. The closest word we can get to this is jealousy, as complex as that might be.

        God wants us so much that there can be no rivals. And why should we desire anything more than a God willing to do all that Jesus Christ has done for us?


        MOVING FORWARD: Reflect on the greatest love you’ve ever had.



        (Source: Forward Day By Day Movement)

         
         
         
        bottom of page