A Franciscan Benediction

Duane Beck, the pastor at RMC, shared this prayer with us during service a looonnng time ago. It was on my friend's blog, and I have since put it on my own personal blog.. but I think it is such an amazing prayer that Christians and people of faith should be praying every single day, and acting upon every moment possible. Sometimes I get off the path and struggle, but this prayer always reminds me about the role my faith plays not only in my own life, but in my community (which, I argue, is a world community). Also this prayer really gets to the root of things.. that Christians aren't supposed to be peacemakers in the sense of pacifying and appeasing the people around them.. but they should be active in affecting and impacting the world to bring justice to others, to reach out to others in need, to help people when disaster strikes, to speak out against violence and oppression, to end war and occupation, to protect our natural resources and environment, to create loving and supportive homes, to end racism, sexism, and bigotry, and, most importantly, to spread the love and message of Christ.


A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless us with discomfort…
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that we may live deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger...
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless us with tears...
to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war,
so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them
and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness...
to believe that we can make a difference in this world,
so that we can DO what others claim cannot be done.

Amen


- Tiffany Stokes