October 4: Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi

“The Little Works of Francis of Assisi", published in Antwerp at the press of Balthasar Moretus, 1623

🌿 Saint Francis’s Reflection on the Our Father (Translated by Paschal Robinson, 1905)

​Our Father most holy, Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter,
Who art in heaven--
in the angels and in the saints--
illuminating them with knowledge, for You are Light;
inflaming them with love, for You are Love;
dwelling in them and filling them with blessedness,
for You are the highest Good, the eternal Good,
from whom comes all good, and without whom there is no good.
Hallowed be Your Name.
May the knowledge of You shine within us,
that we may know the breadth of Your blessings,
the length of Your promises,
the height of Your majesty,
and the depth of Your judgments.
Your Kingdom come.
Reign within us by grace
and bring us to Your Kingdom,
where there is the clear vision of You,
the perfect love of You,
the blessed company of You,
the eternal enjoyment of You.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
May we love You
with all our heart—by always thinking of You;
with all our soul—by always desiring You;
with all our mind—by directing all our intentions to You
and seeking Your honor in all things;
and with all our strength—by giving every power
of body and soul in service to Your love, and nothing else.
May we love our neighbors as ourselves,
drawing all to Your love,
rejoicing in others’ good as in our own,
and bearing their burdens with compassion.
Give us this day our daily bread--
through memory, understanding, and reverence
for the love which He had for us,
and for all He said, did, and suffered for us:
Your Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Forgive us our trespasses,
through Your ineffable mercy,
in virtue of the Passion of Your Beloved Son,
and through the merits and intercession
of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all Your elect.
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And what we do not fully forgive,
do You, O Lord, make us fully forgive--
that for Your sake we may truly love our enemies,
and devoutly intercede for them with You;
that we may render no evil for evil,
but strive to do good to all in You.
Lead us not into temptation,
hidden or visible, sudden or continuous;
but deliver us from evil,
past, present, and to come. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
​

A blessed Saint Francis Feast Day! Isn't that a beautiful meditation from The Prayers and Praises of St. Francis of Assisi? 
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May the peace of God and his servant Francis to fill your heart.