DEAR LORD!

Prayer is the act of being conscious of the breath of God that flows through and around us every instant of our lives. Would that Divine breath forget us for even an instant? The practice of prayer, then, is to become aware of the Awareness of God. Each breath, every thought becomes an act of prayer, for we cannot be separated from that breath.

Though Francis was nearly out of breath, he launched one of the impromptu sermons he was famous for. He looked to the sky and stretched his arms out like a giant bird, the sleeves of his habit falling and giving the impression of wings.

“Oh, Lord, make me an instrument of your peace”. Carve me into a flute that is placed to your Divine lips, and fill me with the breath of your spirit. Wrap your fingers around my soul and cover the holes of my life. Make of me a song to the Beloved, a hymn to the holiness of your Divine and gracious love. Teach me what it means to surrender to the rhythm of your dance. Destroy the empty vessel of my vanity, and fill me with your sacred wine. Let me drink until I am overcome by your love, then hold me straight that I may fall into your open arms.

“Oh Lord, teach me to become an instrument of your grace”. Open my heart and let your love flow into me like a river of refreshment. Then place my mouth against your own that I may taste the sweetness of your lips and gulp the full measure of your holy breath. Let your music resound in my heart and so overwhelm me that I can no longer contain myself. Then let me dance to the rhythmic pounding of our joined hearts, the celestial pulse without which I cannot survive.

“Lord, make me an instrument of your passion”. Stir the depths of my spirit and show me what it feels like to go mad from loving you. Let my hearth scream from the pain of too much tenderness and be wounded by the arrow of your sharp and penetrating gaze. Lock me inside your bed chamber and force me to wait upon your embrace. And when daylight fades, and you come to me at last, beckon me with your eyes, and I fall into you, just as the river merges with the sea or as the earth wraps itself around the roots of a mighty tree. 

Excerpts from the book The Prayer of St. Francis, by James F. Twyman