Prayer of Peace, attributed to St Francis

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,
and 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 to eternal life.

The way of the Cross

Reader: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray, Lord God, when our world lay in ruins you raised it up again on the foundation of your Son’s Passion and Death; give us grace to rejoice in the freedom from sin which he gained for us. And bring us to everlasting joy. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

FIRST STATION : JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH

Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you; because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world. Amen.

Reader: As Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the scarlet cloak, Pilate said to them, “See, here is the man.” When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they cried out: “Crucify him!” At that, he gave Jesus up into their hands to be crucified. Amen.

Leader: It was indeed part of God’s plan that Christ, through his redemptive sacrifice which reached its summit with the death on the Cross, should become the source of a new unity of humanity who are called in him – Christ – to rediscover their dignity as the adopted sons of God. In this sacrifice on the Cross can be found the origin of the Church as the community of salvation. [General Audience, 6th October 1991]

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world : Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, Lord Jesus Christ, first-born of many brethren, you are alone and mistreated all over the world today. May we be more attentive to the sufferings of others, and so grow more like you, who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

SECOND STATION : JESUS TAKES UP HIS CROSS

Reader: They, once he was in their hands, led him away. So Jesus went out, carrying his own cross, to the place named after a skull; its Hebrew name is Golgotha. [John 19:16-17]

Leader: In the midst of this vigil stands the cross. You have borne this cross to this place and you have erected it in the midst of our gathering. On that cross, the divine ‘I Am’ of the new and eternal Covenant is made manifest ‘to the very end’. [John 13:1]. ‘God so loved the world that he gave up his only-begotten Son, so that those who believe in him may not perish, but have eternal life’ [John 3:16]. The Cross, sign of that unfathomable love; the sign that reveals that ‘God is love’. [John 4:8] [Meeting with youth, Czestochowa, 14th August 1991]

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, Lord Jesus, you said: “Come to me, you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Take pity on your Church, threatened from within and without, delivered up before the world; support her with the strength of your arm, you who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.

THIRD STATION : JESUS FALLS FOR THE FIRST TIME

Reader: Jesus falls under the weight of the cross. He does not resort to his supernatural power, nor does he resort to the power of angels. ‘Do you think that I cannot pray to my Father, who would at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?’ [Mark 14:36]. Having accepted the cup from his Father’s hands he is resolved to drink it to the end.

Leader: No being in the world is exempt from weakness, whether physical, emotional or spiritual. Each of us must face up to our handicaps humbly. In the providence of God, this does not mean a lesser aptitude for holiness or for serving the world: on the contrary, we can do all things in him who strengthens us, Christ Jesus.

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, Lord we ask you to give to our persecuted brethren the grace to accept the Cross which they have not chosen, and to follow in your path to the Father, who lived and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

FOURTH STATION : JESUS MEETS HIS MOTHER

Reader: Simon said to Mary: ‘Behold, this child destined to bring about the fall of many and the rise of may in Israel, to be a sign which men will refuse to acknowledge: an so the thoughts of many hearts shall be made manifest. As for your own soul, it shall have a sword to pierce it.’ [Luke 2:34-35] Mary meets her Son along the way of the Cross. His Cross becomes her Cross; his humiliation is her humiliation.

Leader: Side by side with her Son, and faithfully persevering in union with her Son, she ‘advance in her pilgrimage of faith’, as the Council emphasises. This happened not without her maternal spirit to his sacrifice, lovingly consenting to the immolation of the victim to whom she had given birth, in this way Mary ‘Faithfully preserved her union with her Son, even to the Cross.’

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, Blessed Virgin, bend in sympathy over the children who are dying of hunger and cold. Take into your arms those who die in misery, O Virgin of Tenderness, and bring them into that Kingdom where every tear will be wiped away, the Kingdom where your Son reigns forever and ever. Amen.

FIFTH STATION : SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS JESUS TO CARRY THE CROSS

Reader: As for his cross, they forced a passerby who was coming in from the country to carry it, one Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. [Mark 15:21]

Leader: ‘Even as I write, I am glad of my sufferings on your behalf, as in this mortal frame of mine, I help to pay off the debt which the afflictions of Christ still leave to be paid, for the sake of his body, the Church.’ [Colossians 1:24] The truth of our faith does not exclude, but rather demands, the participation of all people, in the sacrifice of Christ, in collaboration with the Redeemer.

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, Lord, just as Simon came to your aid, we wish to relive the sufferings of your Church in need. Awaken in our hearts the wish to serve you in the poor, the hungry, the thirsty and all who are lonely and afraid, the least of all your brothers and sisters. You are Lord forever and ever. Amen.

SIXTH STATION : VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS

Reader: Tradition has bequeathed us Veronica – a counterpart to the man from Cyrene. Although, being a woman, she could not physically carry the Cross to be called upon to do so, there is no doubt that she really did carry it in the only way open to her at the time, in obedience to the dictates of her heart: she wiped his face.

Leader: As Veronica ministered to Christ on his way to Calvary, so Christians have accepted to care for those in pain and sorrow as privileged opportunities to minister to Christ himself. Remember it is Christ to whom you minister in the sufferings of your brothers and sisters; the wisdom of Christ and the power of Christ are to be seen in the weakness of those who share his suffering.

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, Lord Jesus, give us the strength to repeat Veronica’s gesture and wipe away the tears of our brethren, by sharing in their suffering. Let them know the power of your Resurrection: you who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

SEVENTH STATION : JESUS FALLS A SECOND TIME

Reader: ‘I am a worm, not a man, scorned by all, the laughing-stock of the mob.’ [Psalm 22:6] The words of the psalmist come true in these steep, narrow little streets of Jerusalem in the last hours before the Passover, with the streets teeming with people.

Leader: Faith in sharing in the suffering of Christ brings with it the interior certainty that the suffering person; completes what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions’. It is precisely suffering, permeated by the spirit of Christ’s sacrifice, that is the irreplaceable mediator of the good things that are indispensable for the world’s salvation. [Apostolic letter Salvifici Doloris11th February 1984]

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, Lord you call us to follow you freely on the way of the Cross. Grant that your disciples may respond to that call, deny themselves, take up the Cross, and confess that you are the Saviour of mankind through your humbling of yourself and being raised to the right hand of the Father, where you live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.

EIGHTTH STATION : JESUS CONSOLES THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM

Reader: Jesus was followed by a great crowd of the people, and also of women, who beat their breasts and mourned over him; but he turned to them and said: ‘It is not for me that you should weep, daughters of Jerusalem; you should weep for yourselves and for your children.’ [Luke 23]

Leader: The Shroud is an image of God’s love as well as of human sin. It invites us to rediscover the ultimate reason for Jesus’ redeeming death. As it speaks to us of l ova and sin, the Shroud invites us all to impress upon our spirit the face of God’s love, to remove from it the tremendous reality of sin. Echoing the word of God and centuries of Christian consciousness, the Shroud whispers: believe in God’s love, the greatest treasure given to humanity, and flee from sin, the greatest misfortune in history. [Reflection before the Holy Shroud, Turin 24th May 1998]

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader:
Let us pray, almighty and eternal God, you gather together what id scattered and unite what you have gathered. Look with love upon the flock of your Son: may the bond of charity and the fullness of the faith unite all who have been consecrated by the one baptism. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

NINTH STATION : JESUS FALLS FOR THE THIRD TIME

Reader: ‘He became humbler still, making himself obedient even to death, death on the Cross.’ [Philippians 2:8]. We see Jesus falling for the third time under the Cross, falling, lying in the dusty road under the Cross, at the feet of a hostile crowd that spares him no insult or humiliation.

Leader: To have a ‘Pascal sense’ to life also means to understand the depths of the reality and the value of the Redemption carried out by the Passion and the death of Jesus, an atoning sacrifice which makes us realise the gravity of sin – a rebellion against God and refusal of sin love – as well as the marvellous work of the Redemption. [General Audience 7th May 1989]

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, Father give the light of hope to those who will know today both suffering and tears. We ask this through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

TENTH STATION : JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS

Reader: The soldiers took up his garments, which they divided into four shares, one share for each soldier. This was in fulfillment of the passage in Scripture which says, ‘They divide my spoils among them, cast lots for my clothing.’ So it was that that the soldiers occupied themselves. [John 19:23-24]

But this solidarity was in no way an effect of sin on him: on the contrary, it was a gratuitous act of the purest love. [New Year Message, 1st January 1989]

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, Lord we are united in indissolubly in love with those who , through love and faithfulness to Christ, must carry the Cross, stripped of everything. Strengthen our faith, so that our prayer may accompany our brothers and sisters at all times: you who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

ELEVENTH STATION : JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS

Reader: They offered him a draught of win, mixed with gall, which he tasted, but would not drink; and then they crucified him. Jesus meanwhile was saying, ‘Father ,forgive them: they do not know what they are doing.’ [Matthew 27:34-35: Luke 23:34]

Leader: To a great extent, our Catholic unity depends on mutual charity. Let us remember that the unity of the Church originated on the Cross of Christ, which broke down the barriers of sin and division and reconciled us with God and one another. Jesus foretold this unifying act when he said: ‘…and I, if I be lifted up from the earth , will draw all men to myself.’ [John 12:32] [Meeting with Catholic Bishops, Philadelphia, 4th October 1979]

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, Father of all goodness, you had pity on your Son, bowed down by suffering. Look with mercy on the poor of this world: visit them with your love and give them your peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

TWELFTH STATION : JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS

Reader: From the sixth hour onwards there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour; and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice ‘Eli, Eli, lamma sabachtani?’ - ‘My God, my God, why have your forsaken me? Jesus said, ‘It is achieved.’ Then he bowed his head, and yielded up his spirit. [Matthew 27:45,49]

Leader: The words uttered on Golgotha bear witness to the depth – unique in the history of the world – of the evil of the suffering experienced. When Christ says: ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’, his words are an expression of that abandonment which may times found expression in the Old Testament. Christ perceives in a humanly inexpressible way this suffering which is the rejection by the Father, the estrangement from God. But precisely through this suffering he accomplishes the Redemption, and can say as he breathes his last: ‘It is accomplished.’ [Apostolic letter Salvifici Doloris11th February 1984]

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, Lord we pray that , as you wished to live our life and die our death even to the experience of abandonment by the Father, give the Church the light and strength of your presence: you who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

THIRTEENTH STATION ; JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS

Reader: When the body is taken down from the Cross and laid in the Mother’s arms, in our mind’s eye we glimpse again the moment when Mary accepted the message brought by the angel Gabriel. One again Jesus is in her arms, as he was in the stable in Bethlehem, during the flight into Egypt, at Nazareth.

Leader: Through faith the Mother shares in the death of her Son, in his redeeming death; and as a sharing in the sacrifice of Christ – the new Adam – this faith becomes in a certain sense the atonement for the disobedience and disbelief of our first parents. Thus teach the Fathers of the Church and especially Saint Irenaeus: ‘The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience; what the virgin Eve bound through her unbelief, Mary loosened by her faith.’ [Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Mater 25th March 1987]

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, God of mercy, in the Cross of your Son you revealed to us your love and your power. Teach us to discover in the sufferings of all people the image of him who lives and reigns with you and Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

FOURTEENTH STATION : JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB

Reader: In the same quarter where he was crucified there was a garden, with a new tomb in it, one in which no man had ever yet been laid. Here, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus, rolling a stone against the door of the tomb. [Mark 15:46]

Leader: The Shroud is also an image of powerlessness: the powerlessness of death in which the ultimate consequence of the mystery of the Incarnation is revealed. The burial cloth spurs us to measure ourselves against the most troubling aspect of the mystery of the Incarnation, which is also the one that shows with how much truth God truly became man, taking on our condition in all things, except sin. Everyone is shaken by the thought that not even the Son of God withstood the power of death, but we are all moved at the thought that he so shared our human condition as willingly to subject himself to the total powerlessness of the moment when life is spent. It is the experience of Holy Saturday, an important stage on Jesus’ path to Glory, from which a ray of light shines on the sorrow and death of every person.

By reminding us of Christ’s victory, faith gives us the certainty that the grave is not the ultimate goal of existence. God calls us to resurrection and immortal life. [Reflection before the Holy Shroud, Turin, 24th May 1998]

Leader: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Let us pray, Lord we unite ourselves with our fellow-Christians in those places in the world where they are prevented from practising and witnessing to their faith: may our prayer befriend them in their solitude and sustain their hope in your unfailing goodness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Leader: Let us pray, we adore your Holy Cross, O Jesus, and we glory in your resurrection. By your death you restored to us our dignity as children of God: give us the grace to share in your redemptive work, spreading the Good News of your Resurrection to every corner of the world, you who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE

Leader: Bow your heads and pray for God’s blessing.

Send down your abundant blessing, Lord, upon your people who have devoutly recalled the death of your Son in the sure hope of the resurrection. Grant them pardon; bring them comfort. May their faith grow stronger and their eternal salvation be assured. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Who is Jesus Christ?

Anonymous

He was born in an obscure village the child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in still another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was 30.
Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never had a family or owned a house.
He didn’t go to college.
He never travelled 200 miles from the place where He was born.
He did none of the things one usually associates with greatness.
He had no credentials but himself.
He was only 33 when public opinion turned against Him.
His friends ran away.
He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His clothing, the only property he had on earth.
When He was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race, the leader of mankind’s progress.
All the armies that ever marched,
all the navies that ever sailed,
all the parliaments that ever sat,
all the kings that ever reigned, put together,
have not affected the life of man on earth as much as that
One Solitary Life.

Prayers to St. Francis

Prayer 1

Heavenly Father,
you have given us the saints to be our models, patrons and friends. Today we turn to St Francis of Assisi and as you helped him reflect the image of Christ through his life of poverty and humility, grant us through his intercession the graces we so much need for soul and body. We also ask your blessings on all those whom we love. May the example of St Francis inspire us to grow in holiness as we imitate his joyful love. Grant what we ask in your merciful love, through the merits of Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen

Prayer 2

Father,
you helped St Francis of Assisi to reflect the image of Christ through a life of poverty and humility. May we follow your Son by walking in the footsteps of Francis of Assisi, and by imitating his joyful love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Who is Jesus to me? - Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Jesus is the Word made Flesh.
Jesus is the Bread of Life.
Jesus is the Victim offered for our sins on the Cross.
Jesus is the Sacrifice offered at the Holy Mass for the sins of the world and mine.
Jesus is the Word – to be spoken.
Jesus is the Truth – to be told.
Jesus is the Way – to be walked.
Jesus is the Light – to be lit.
Jesus is the Life – to be lived.
Jesus is the Love – to be loved.
Jesus is the Joy – to be shared.
Jesus is the Sacrifice – to be offered.
Jesus is the Peace – to be given.
Jesus is the Bread of Life – to be eaten.
Jesus is the Hungry – to be fed.
Jesus is the Thirsty – to be satiated.
Jesus is the Naked – to be clothed.
Jesus is the Homeless – to be taken in.
Jesus is the Sick – to be healed.
Jesus is the Lonely – to be loved.
Jesus is the Unwanted – to be wanted.
Jesus is the Leper – to wash his wounds.
Jesus is the Beggar – to give him a smile.
Jesus is the Drunkard – to listen to him.
Jesus is the Mental – to protect him.
Jesus is the Little One – to embrace him.
Jesus is the Blind – to lead him.
Jesus is the Dumb – to speak for him.
Jesus is the Crippled – to walk with him.
Jesus is the Drug Addict – to befriend him.
Jesus is the Prostitute – to remove from danger and befriend her.
Jesus is the Prisoner – to be visited.
Jesus is the Old – to be served.

To me -
 Jesus is my God
 Jesus is my Spouse
 Jesus is my Life
 Jesus is my only Love
 Jesus is my All in All
 Jesus is my Everything.

JESUS, I love with my whole heart, with my whole being.
I have given Him all, even my sins and He has espoused me to Himself in tenderness and love.
Now and for life I am the Spouse of my Crucified Spouse.

Amen.

The Hidden Jesus, by St John Vianney

Our Lord is hidden there, waiting for us to come and visit Him, and
make our request to Him. See how good He is! He accommodates Himself to our weakness. In Heaven, where we shall be glorious and triumphant, we shall see him in all His glory. If He had presented Himself before us in that glory now, we should not have dared to approach Him; but He hides Himself, like a person in a prison, who might say to us, "You do not see me, but that is no matter; ask of me all you wish and I will grant it. " He is there in the Sacrament of His love, sighing and interceding incessantly with His Father for sinners. To what outrages does He not expose Himself, that He may remain in the midst of us! He is there to console us; and therefore we ought often to visit Him. How pleasing to Him is the short quarter of an hour that we steal from our occupations, from something of no use, to come and pray to Him, to visit Him, to console Him for all the outrages He receives! When He sees pure souls coming eagerly to Him, He smiles upon them. They come with that simplicity which pleases Him so much, to ask His pardon for all sinners, for the outrages of so many ungrateful men. What happiness do we not feel in the presence of God, when we find ourselves alone at His feet before the holy tabernacles! "Come, my soul, redouble thy fervour; thou art alone adoring thy God. His eyes rest upon thee alone. " This good Saviour is so full of love for us that He seeks us out everywhere."

Ah! if we had the eyes of angels with which to see Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is here present on this altar, and who is looking at us, how we should love Him! We should never more wish to part from Him. We should wish to remain always at His feet; it would be a foretaste of Heaven: all else would become insipid to us. But see, it is faith we want. We are poor blind people; we have a mist before our eyes. Faith alone can dispel this mist. Presently, my children, when I shall hold Our Lord in my hands, when the good God blesses you, ask Him then to open the eyes of your heart; say to Him like the blind man of Jericho, "O Lord, make me to see!" If you say to Him sincerely, "Make me to see!" you will certainly obtain what you desire, because He wishes nothing but your happiness. He has His hands full of graces, seeking to whom to distribute them; Alas! and no one will have them. . . . Oh, indifference! Oh, ingratitude! My children, we are most unhappy that we do not understand these things! We shall understand them well one day; but it will then be too late!

Our Lord is there as a Victim; and a prayer that is very pleasing to God is to ask the Blessed Virgin to offer to the Eternal Father her Divine Son, all bleeding, all torn, for the conversion of sinners; it is the best prayer we can make, since, indeed, all prayers are made in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ. We must also thank God for all those indulgences that purify us from our sins. . . but we pay no attention to them. We tread upon indulgences, one might say, as we tread upon the sheaves of corn after the harvest. See, there are seven years and seven quarantines for hearing the catechism, three hundred days for reciting the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, the Salve Regina, the Angelus. In short, the good God multiplies His graces upon us; and how sorry we shall be at the end of our lives that we did not profit by them!

When we are before the Blessed Sacrament, instead of looking about, let us shut our eyes and our mouth; let us open our heart: our good God will open His; we shall go to Him, He will come to us, the one to ask, the other to receive; it will be like a breath from one to the other. What sweetness do we not find in forgetting ourselves in order to seek God! The saints lost sight of themselves that they might see nothing but God, and labor for Him alone; they forgot all created objects in order to find Him alone. This is the way to reach Heaven.

The Meditation Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

My God and My All!

The Blessing of St. Francis of Assisi to Brother Leo

The Lord bless you and keep you.
May He show His face to you and have mercy.
May He turn His countenance to you and give you peace.
The Lord bless you!

St. Francis of Assisi's Vocation Prayer

Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of our minds. Give us a right faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity, so that we may always and in all things act according to Your Holy Will. Amen.

St. Francis of Assisi's prayer praising Mary the Mother of Jesus

Hail, holy Lady, most holy Queen,
Mary, Mother of God, ever Virgin.
You were chosen by the Most High Father in heaven,
consecrated by Him, with His most Holy Beloved Son and the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
On you descended and still remains all the fullness of grace and every good.
Hail, His Palace.
Hail His Tabernacle.
Hail His Robe.
Hail His Handmaid.
Hail, His Mother.
and Hail, all holy Virtues, who, by grace and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, are poured into the hearts of the faithful so that from their faithless state, they may be made faithful servants of God through you.

St. Francis of Assisi's prayer in praise of God given to Brother Leo

You are holy, Lord, the only God,and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong.
You are great.
You are the Most High.
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good, Lord God, living and true.
You are love. You are wisdom.
You are humility. You are endurance.
You are rest. You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
You are beauty.
You are gentleness.
You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender.
You are our courage. You are our haven and our hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful Lord,
God Almighty, Merciful Saviour.

Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon of St. Francis of Assisi

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord, All praise is Yours, all glory, all honour and all blessings.

To you alone, Most High, do they belong, and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.

Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun. Who is the day through whom You give us light. And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour, Of You Most High, he bears the likeness.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars, In the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, And fair and stormy, all weather's moods, by which You cherish all that You have made.

Praised be You my Lord through Sister Water, So useful, humble, precious and pure.

Praised be You my Lord through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You my Lord through our Sister, Mother Earth who sustains and governs us, producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs. Praise be You my Lord through those who grant pardon for love of You and bear sickness and trial.

Blessed are those who endure in peace, By You Most High, they will be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Death, from whom no-one living can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Blessed are they She finds doing Your Will.

No second death can do them harm. Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks, And serve Him with great humility.