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The Prayer Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi

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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

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Moving Forward - 27 February 2025

    THURSDAY, February 27, George Herbert


    Psalm 134:1 Behold now, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, you that stand by night in the house of the Lord.


    This psalm brings up for me the lived wonder of formation, one of the best gifts I’ve received from God and the Episcopal Church. The psalm is only two verses long—so tiny to have given me such massive comfort over the course of my life. There was the comfort of praying these words with friends as we said Compline together for years as teens in EYC (Episcopal Youth Community). Then, there was the new domesticity of praying these words in bed with my husband soon after we married. There was also the sadness of praying these words at an evening program after one of my parishioners was shot by the police.


    What we pray and when we pray together as a community form us. Even when I’m too sad, stressed, or perplexed to make the words make sense in my head, they still bring solace to my spirit. I’m anchored and held together not only by the words said at a particular time in a particular community but also by the power and presence of God experienced each time they are prayed.  


    MOVING FORWARD: What psalm brings you comfort?



    (Source: Forward Day By Day Movement)

     
     
     

    Moving Forward - 26 February 2025

      WEDNESDAY, February 26, PHOTINI, THE SAMARITAN WOMAN, c.67


      Ruth 2:12b May you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!


      It always struck me as odd that even though Naomi has a rich kinsman, Boaz, the text indicates that she hadn’t told Ruth. The narrator lets the reader know, but all Naomi says is, “Go, my daughter,” when Ruth announces her plan to glean in the fields. Thankfully, Ruth just happens to end up in the fields belonging to Boaz and receives his blessing. She finds safety and drink, in addition to food. 

       

      And while Boaz treats her kindly, both he and Ruth acknowledge her foreign outsider status. He doesn’t claim her at this time as part of his household, although he knows Naomi is his relative. It’s as if Ruth’s loyalty is merit enough to be rewarded with good fortune, but there’s ambivalence around offering familial security, as if her outsider status is a tad more important than her loyalty. It makes me wonder who I’m nice to but don’t consider important enough to be in spaces where decisions get made or communal responsibilities are handed out. God, please show me who I see as outsiders—and how to change my perspective.


      MOVING FORWARD: Who do you regard as an outsider?



      (Source: Forward Day By Day Movement)

       
       
       

      Moving Forward - 25 February 2025

        TUESDAY, February 25, Emily Malbone Morgan


        Matthew 5:13a You are the salt of the earth.


        Jesus said you are salt; you are light, meaning we’re there already. This is good news to hear in a world with 24/7 advertising, morning shows, and self-help books, all telling us that we are incomplete without this product or that program available—all on sale now. These words from Jesus are refreshing in a time when social media posts urge us to compare our lifestyles, bodies, and experiences with filtered images and scripted scenes masquerading as enviable.


        We are beloved, and we are enough to bring the good news and to help God replace the bitter taste of evil with the goodness of salt to the meal that is life in this world. We are enough to bring brightness and clarity to the places in this world that are lost in murky shadows. Jesus says right now, as is, we are practical and necessary for God’s purposes for this world.


        MOVING FORWARD: You are enough. You are salt. You are light. You are loved.



        (Source: Forward Day By Day Movement)

         
         
         
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