markdohle

It is in giving that we receive (This are my notes on the second part of the Prayer of St. Francis) 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. Amen.—St. Francis of Assisi When Christ Jesus was accosted in the garden of Gethsemane, betrayed, man -handled and arrested, in the midst of all that chaos, Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus. Peter’s response was understandable, for we protect those we love and respect. Also fear can lead us to commit acts we would not normally do. Like peter denying his Lord. Jesus forgave him because he sees our hearts; he knew Peter’s true character. In the midst of this chaos, no one noticed what happened to Malchus, well no one but our loving and compassionate Lord. He reached out in the tumult and touched gently the ear of one of the men who came to arrest him and healed him. I find this astounding. Jesus wished to console and heals one of his enemies! Jesus’ heart was truly human and divine, he shows us what we are to become when we give ourselves over to his grace and healing. In the catholic faith we call attention to this reality by calling upon the Sacred Heart of Jesus. His love for each of us is unfathomable and who can understand it. I believe the second part of the Peace Prayer of St. Francis is a true call for all Christians to ponder on what it means to embody Christ Jesus, to allow his grace and love to fill us. My heart is still fearful at times, or it feels like stone, dead, yet when I think of Christ Jesus and this scene, my heart again opens up to his deep love and compassion. He truly wants all of us to hear his Word, to believe in his love and for us to reach out and love all…..for God wills the salvation of all men and that they come to the truth…..that truth is Jesus Christ, God and Man, who came for each one of us out of true unconditional infinite love. Oh Lord, that we Christians will learn to reach out to all in love that they may come to understand your deep love for all. For we Christians are your heart in an often heartless world, your hands to comfort and your feet to seek out those who need your love and mercy.

"Let us all love the Lord God with all [our] heart, all [our] soul, with all [our] mind and all [our] strength and with fortitude and with total understanding, with all of our powers, with every effort, every affection, every emotion, every desire, and every wish. He has given and gives to each one of us [our] whole body, [our] whole soul, and [our] whole life. He created us and redeemed us, and will save us by His mercy alone. He did and does every good thing for us [who are] miserable and wretched, rotten and foul-smelling, ungrateful and evil." (St. Francis of Assisi) "[L]et us desire nothing else, let us wish for nothing else, let nothing else please us and cause us delight except our Creator and Redeemer and Savior, the one true God, Who is the Fullness of Good all good, every good, the true and supreme good, Who alone is Good merciful and gentle, delectable and sweet, Who alone is holy, just and true, holy and right, Who alone is kind, innocent, pure, from Whom and through Whom and in Whom is all pardon, all grace, all glory, of all the penitent and the just, of all the blessed who rejoice together in heaven. Therefore, let nothing hinder us nothing separate us or nothing come between us. Let all of us, wherever we are, in every place, at every hour, at every time of day, everyday and continually, believe truly and humbly, and keep in [our] heart, and love, honor, adore, service, praise and bless, glorify and exalt, magnify and give thanks to, the most high and supreme eternal God, Trinity and Unity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Creator of all, Savior of all who believe in Him and hope in Him and love Him, Who is without beginning and without end, unchangeable, invisible, indescribable, ineffable, incomprehensible, unfathomable, blessed, worthy of praise, glorious, exalted on high, sublime, most high, gentle, loveable, delectable and totally desirable above all else forever. Amen." (St. Francis of Assisi)

Yes, people often want 'flash' in their lives, when we are called to live everyday with its 'everyday-ness' to grow in the love of Christ Jesus. As I age I do I have the "grumpy old man" syndrome from time to time, so the prayer helps to keep that in check, it helps me to seek to truly be with the one in front of me. Peace mark

Nah, I am not bothered by this. She is a good christian woman who is simply trying to reach me, at the bottom it is a form of charity I believe......though it seldom benefits anyone. In all things praise God and love all..... Peace mark

Well said, God always knows his own and will reach them, yes through dreams. Peace Mark

Thank you my friend, yes St. Francis is a great saint. Peace mark

Thank you for spending so much time and energy responding to me ;-). It is useless really, but you do have your own way of interpretation, that is why there can be disagreement with Christians. As for your points above, I see them, but you don't get it. Christ Jesus is the head, the saints are part of the body of Christ Jesus....so yeah, they intercede for us just as I am sure you do for others. There is noting demonic about the communion and prayer to the saints. That is just your interpretation. Necromancy is the calling up of the dead, asking saints to pray for us is not bringing up the departed, nor is it seeking information etc. However I don't expect you to understand that. Always good hearing from you.

What a beautiful testimony, thank you for sharing. Peace Mark

Amen my friend, thank you. Peace mark

Wow, you sound truly loving towards all life. Thanks you for responding my friend. Peace Mark

You believe in your interpretation of scripture, which not all agree with you who may have some real problems with the Catholic church. There is no subtle doctrine of evil spirits here, well yes in your own mind. I am fine with that my friend. Like I said, even if you don't believe I am a brother in Christ, you are mine, for we worship the same Lord, even if you don't agree ;-). We are called to love one another and to speak the truth....Jesus Christ is Lord, he was the Lord and savior of St. Francis as well, even if you don't agree. Peace mark

Amen sister, thank you. Peace Mark

It is the prayer I like and love and ponder over. Did St. Paul write the book of Hebrews? It does not matter. The same with this deeply christian prayer, it was written by a Christian. Peace mark

Asking men and woman and old men and boy to praise the Lord and in the same breathe calling out to all of nature to do the same would seem to show a deep connection.

Ok LOL, we will never agree my friend.....this prayer has nothing with new age, it came centuries after this prayer was created. Peace Mark

Yes it is, thank you. Peace Mark

Creation is sacred, God presence fills it. The prayer is addressed to the God revealed through Christ Jesus. Pantheist do not pray to a deity, nature is the deity for them, impersonal. Psalm 148 1 Praise the Lord.[a] Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. 2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. 3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. 4 Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created, 6 and he established them for ever and ever— he issued a decree that will never pass away. 7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, 8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, 9 you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10 wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, 11 kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, 12 young men and women, old men and children. 13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. 14 And he has raised up for his people a horn,[b] the praise of all his faithful servants, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord.

Thoughts on the prayer of Saint Francis I find the prayer of St. Francis to be a great piece to ponder and pray over. I was asked to give a retreat to a group of Franciscans who belong to the 3rd order, meaning they are secular s whose spirituality is based of the teaching and St. Francis. They are loving people, who love Christ and seek to work with the poor and underprivileged. Then tend to be down to earth and gentle in how they approach others. Below are notes on the first talk. As well as the prayer of St. Francis in full. Prayer of Saint 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; 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. Amen. ++++++++++ Thoughts on the prayer of Saint Francis Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: The human experience for everyone is a rough journey. We can often hide from others what is going on inside of us; we can smile when in reality there is a war going on within. We experience injustice, injury, doubt and yes despair. We can also go through periods where we are filled with darkness and sadness. In some instances these inner variations can be a mystery to us. So how can we be instruments of peace when there is often inner conflict and pain within? “Where there is hatred, let me sow love;” How do we learn to sow love when in circumstances that are far from loving? There are no easy answers to the many situations we find ourselves in. Emotions can be strong, words flung out that wound; in the midst of this how can we be a loving presence in the world? Everyone desires peace. Nations say they do, yet the world is a planet where war is common place. Where everyday people are killed, tortured, falsely imprisoned and abused in many ways. This only feeds into the ever deepening hunger of hatred and the seeking after revenge. Peace Indeed? It is all about relationships, which the Prayer of St. Francis brings out so poignantly with a deep undertow I believe of sorrow for the world. Perhaps it is about our relationship with our selves first. It is easy to forget that we are commanded to love ourselves. It is not an invitation that we can turn down without any consequences. How can we be instruments of peace if we are not at peace with ourselves? How can we be an instrument of Christ Jesus if we do not allow his love and Holy Spirit into our hearts? Self contempt and hatred towards self is not one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The greatest gift of the Spirit is expressed beautifully in St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians chapter 13. 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. So before we can be true instruments of peace, we have to pray for the greatest of spiritual gifts, which is the only way we can be used by the Lord in a world filled with strife and pain, hatred and the seeking after revenge that masquerades as justice. The anger of man does not express the justice of God. Where there is injury, pardon; To grow is self love takes a true death to self. To grow in the freedom of the Children of God is not as easy as many would take it to be. As our relationship with the Lord deepens, he knowing each of us will bring us to the gift of humility. The deeper we are called to intimacy with Christ Jesus, the more he will show us the depths of our souls and what needs mercy as well as healing. He allows us to see how we have hurt others, often in ignorance, yet the harm done. He brings also to our awareness the times when we were cruel and malicious in our actions towards others. The closer we come to the heart of Christ Jesus, and the experience of his love and tender mercy, the more profound will be our sorrow for the times when we were unloving, adding to the anger and pain in the world. It is in this, this humble understanding of our own sins, as well as the lack of freedom we often have in our responses, that leads us to learn to forgive others, for when we grow in self knowledge we begin to understand others more deeply. We can no longer say: “How could he or she do that!”? When we grow in self knowledge we learn how others like us can do horrible acts without knowing what they are doing. We learn compassion and empathy. We may still struggle with anger and hurt, yet we have a way to end the cycle of pain and recrimination. Where there is doubt, faith; In God’s mercilessly mercy, our doubts will also be brought to the surface. Not all people have doubts, but many do, perhaps the majority. These can come from more than one source. Pain and suffering is the most common I believe when dealing with doubt about God, his existence as well as his loving nature. Doubt can also come when the reality of God’s love is starting to take root. Is this possible (?) we may ask ourselves. So yes doubt can be a companion for many through life. It is when we do not fear this reality that we can be of help and support to those around us who are going through periods of doubt. How this is dealt with is of utmost importance. It can be a spur to deeper study and prayer as our understanding of God deepens and our idols fade, or it can lead to indifference and loss of faith. When we understand this, we can be of help to those who are struggling with this reality and have no one to talk to. As we learn that we do have the freedom of choice, so we can also lead others as well. Where there is despair, hope; The Lord will allows us experience our own powerlessness. We can experience this in our inability to pray, or if we do it seems like nothing but distractions with nothing going on. Or through our failures in our ability to live out what we have promised to the Lord when we began our walk with Him; when being filled with consolation and fervor. It is in our darkest moments when we are brought to the point of understanding the true meaning of trust. What we feel, how we fail, our inner conflicts do not in any way affect the Lords relationship with us. We are called at this time to give our totally trust in God’s merciful love and compassion. For as it says in the 1st letter of John that “God is greater than our hearts”. Or as Jesus said to Sr. Faustina: "[Let] the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to trust in the abyss of My mercy. My daughter, write about My mercy towards tormented souls. Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice..." (Diary, 1146) So yes, the Lord in order for all of us to be present to others in their deep suffering will bring us through it as well so that we can grow in compassion, empathy and love for others. The more we understand our own need for God’s mercy, the less we will feel the need to judge…which s a terrible burden and harmful to our souls. Where there is sadness, joy. It is when we learn that even in the darkest moments of our lives that joy will return, in fact has always been there, for as our trust in the Lord deepens (a choice), so does the inner peace even in the mist of deep suffering. We find that as the years go by and as we age, when we look back on our lives we see that the Lord has always been there. Even when our path seemed to be simply not there, when in the desert, yet we see that there was movement that was led by God’s grace and often hidden presence. In that we can be comfortable with others who are in deep sadness and will be able to be with them, support them without pious platitudes that can only make things worse. We slowly learn not to fear the suffering that comes with being with others. We learn that the deeper we love, the more we will suffer as Christ Jesus suffered, because as he was fully human, so heart slowly becomes human likes his.

I remember one old monk here told me that the experience of God's absence is just another way to feel his presence, we just grow in our understanding of what God isn't', our idols crumble on the journey. Yet Christ is always "Yes". Peace mark

Our deepest longing (It takes a long time to become fully human) A great source of suffering for me is that I often feel chained and anchored in ways of being that keep me from being fully human. That may sound silly, for of course I am human. However we are not instinct bound creatures. We have the potential to either becoming loving or unloving. I believe that humans are the only creatures that are known who have deep moral dilemmas that arise from some inner compass which points to what is right and what is wrong. It is often easier to move towards self destruction than towards wholeness and healing, which points to some inner wound, that we as a species seem to live with and pass it on from one generation to the next…..getting worse as the centuries pass. It is not all bleak because the seeking after wholeness is also apparent and has a salutary affect on our world. What is lived out in our cultures is a mirror image of the inner ‘war’ that goes on in each soul. I have been spared from the major addictions. Those ways of self-medication that only lead to deeper pain and chaos and even death of both body and soul. However I am aware of other so called minor addictions (which is a misnomer, no addiction is minor) that can be equally harmful; it is just that the social ramifications are less. Addictions are ‘gods’. Trust is placed in them to make our life better, or to lessen pain, but they never deliver, yet we continue…..that is the nature of addictions, even the so called minor ones. One of my great struggles is with food. It is not that I eat all the time, or think of food constantly, yet when I am stressed, anxious or bored, it is food that I turn to if I am not conscious of what I am doing. What happens is that I see something that I like, and I get the impression that if I eat this, then things will be better. However it never works out that way. So over the past few years I gained a lot of weight. Which is bad for my health and has the potential of shortening my life, or putting me in a position were I will have to be taken care of sooner rather than later. Over eating is self destructive behavior, yet I struggle not to persist. I seek the easy way out in dealing with my inner pain and conflicts. It is fear of life, which is often stressful even in the most peaceful surroundings’. I went to my doctor and got a good talking to over my weight, letting me know that I have the seeds of some potentially serious health issues if I continue to gain weight. I took it, deserved it and thanked him. I also blamed it on the cinnamon rolls; they are evil, as well as french-fries. In any case it made me think. Here I am almost 68 years old. So my future in this world is getting shorter each day. I want to be of service to the community and others as long as possible, so that helped me to do better with my eating. Though it is still a struggle; for each day I have to turn this over to God, live in the moment and when I feel hungry I have to ask myself “do I need this, am I really hungry?” It helps to do this. I will also wait an hour, and often the hunger goes away. What helps the most is to feel inner emptiness, which is one factor in my overeating I believe. I have found the more time I give to prayer and seeking after my soul’s true longing, the less food is an issue. What is difficult is being at peace with the reality that I am just at the beginning of my journey into become more fully human. Christ Jesus shows me what that means. In that he forgave all who abandoned, betrayed, mocked, lied and who tortured and killed him. I am nowhere near that, yet Christ Jesus calls me to let him in my heart at ever deeper levels. The less I seek the Lord the more I worry about how good I am. The more I seek the Lord, the less I worry about my own perfection and the more I seek and long for His life in my heart and soul. With the Lord I can embrace my inner struggles, hold close my inner fragmentation and not worry about it, but seek to live out what I am commanded to do. To love the Lord with my whole being, and my neighbor as myself…that is enough, with that I don’t have much time to really get to upset over my need for healing and grace but to simply open myself up to it. I am loved by God, we all are, there is nothing to fear for all is known anyway…..we are naked before God, no hiding; we are seen in our totality and loved. Because of that love, God is merciless in pruning all that keeps us from the Divine eternal embrace, where all of our deepest longings are healed and fulfilled. I believe that I am very average, so in that knowledge the Lord is leading me slowly to have compassion and empathy for all who struggle….my brothers and sister in the Lord. When I pray I feel an oneness with all, and hold them in my heart before the Lord….in prayer we open up our hearts to Infinite Love, to grace, and in that we are shown mercy and given healing. So am I a sinner….yes…..am I a mess…..yes…..am I anxious and a fuss budget at time…..yes…..do I fail in love and compassion….yes….I fail in all things…..yet I trust in God’s love and mercy, for God is greater than all of our hearts.---Br.MD

The prayer journey I know on this site, monastic life is probably a subject many here have not thought of, or even heard of. I hope it is OK, but I would like to share a chapter talk I gave last Sunday on prayer. Chapter talks are given on Sundays here by the abbot. When he is gone then other monks will give the talk. Most presentations are given on the “Rule of St. Benedict”. Br. Cassian and I both gave a talk. My talk was more personal, while Cassian’s who was a teacher before he entered the monastery, gave a more academic presentation. I do believe that prayer is simple at its heart, yet each person is unique in how it is lived out. I have found my relationship with the Lord has given me the strength to face much of what is within me that keeps from more fully giving my self over to His love and mercy. It is a slow journey, and for me the monastic journey is the way for me to do it. In the body of Christ we all have a place and when we live out our calling we lift up all others in the Body of Christ as well. So below is my talk. One thing I have learned here is that language about anything can be used differently making it hard for understanding to grow. So I don’t expect many to read this, or to even agree with what I am saying because of the religious language used. ++++++++++ The prayer journey Whose wounds do we bear? Do we bear the wounds of Christ? Or does Christ bear our wounds? When I was a very young monk, just 23 and in the Monastery for only a year, we had a reading one day at our midday office by Thomas Merton that blind-sighted me and created a great deal of inner turmoil. I can’t recall what the reading said, but when the office was over I knew that I had to leave. I was very angry because I thought all those years of believing I had a monastic vocation was a lie. So I went up to my room and was going to pack and leave. When I arrived at my room in what was called the ‘the snorers dorm’ at the time, I became very sleepy and decided to lie down for a nap before I packed. How I could be so agitated and angry and still feel an overwhelming desire to sleep was something I was wondering about even as my head hit the pillow. It was then that I had a dream that kept me in the Monastery. It was a short dream, but very powerful. In the dream Thomas Merton came to me and presented to me this question: “Mark, do you now what a monk is.” I responded: “No I don’t”. He smiled at me and said in a very matter of fact tone: “Mark, a monk is a man who clings to God even when he is in despair”. I awoke then, and I knew that I was to stay. Though the importance of the message did not really register on such a young mind….yet within a few months I got some insight into it. I did understand that the dream pointed to the reality of God’s faithfulness in all of my struggles, even the worst of them. It was just I had not experienced ‘despair’ before that time. A short time later I entered into a journey that made the dream come alive. It also made me understand the importance of clinging to God through trust and prayer. While I was still 23 my inner state changed, how and why I have some understanding but the intensity of what I had to go though was at first terrifying. I do believe that this is a common path that is followed by humanity. If I had known that this would happen to me in the monastery, I doubt I would have entered. However that is probably true of any vocation, what we have to face is hidden from us, the reality would be too grim. The only way to describe it is to say that my heart, my inner space became a dark pit of a pain whose nature I still can’t quite understand, or for that matter even begin to describe. Yet it was there, it would not leave and there was nothing that I could do about it…..except pray. For I soon learned that if I ran from it in some mad plan to alleviate it, to self medicate myself, was a waste of time. In fact it only made it worse. It was like tearing off the protective scab over a deep wound. So I would just sit and stare inwardly and pray to a God who seemed truly absent. Yet the dream stayed with me, “Cling to God, even in despair”. So I clung and God slowly brought about healing. I suppose if I had left the monastery, I would have dealt with this wound with the salve of addiction. Say sexual addiction, or drugs, food etc. I would say that my main weakness is food. It was prayer that kept me on the road towards healing, though it was far from a straight shot. I would run, find it useless and return to prayer, to the Lord, and over the years healing has come, and is in fact still taking place. I still have not figured out just exactly why I have this inner wound, but that is ok. One of the good things about ageing is that I don’t have to fix it, or figure it out, but to pray, trust, and live one day at a time. In prayer I keep the doors open to life and to embrace all that is within me. My joy, my love, my anger and lust, my inner rages, are stepping stones to prayer. It is also my connection with all others, for my path while unique is not that much different from most people I believe. So in my prayer, I understand that when I am healed, or being healed, for it is a life long journey, I grow in my desire to bring all others with me. In this I have learned what ‘The priesthood of the faithful “means. Christ Jesus is one with us in all of human experiences, so it is also true that the deeper we go into the ‘Mind of Christ’ the more we understand our oneness with all of humanity and when I pray I feel this deep connection. Self knowledge does not mean that I have myself figured out. It does mean however that I come face to face with my radical freedom as well as my struggle to grow in freedom every day. This releases me from the burden of judging others, as well as trying to figure them out. How can I? For the greatest mystery to me, is well, myself and my life long dance with God. This dance can be a waltz, or a polka, or sometimes it is like being in a wrestling match… but there it is….prayer is not always about finding peace, or gentle love, but about embracing the inner conflict and sitting with them, praying with them and growing in understanding of my union with the rest of humanity. Whose wounds do we bear? Do we bear the wounds of Christ? Or does Christ bear our wounds? When St. Paul talked about Christ Jesus living in him, it was not some abstract theological principle but a lived reality. Christ Jesus is the immanence of God. In prayer we become ever more deeply one with this reality, until slowly our hearts become the “Heart of Christ”, our minds “The Mind of Christ”, our feet and hands His as well. Prayer allows this to happen, so we can bring forth thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold. It happens slowly for most of us. How it happens, well it is the seed of grace, once planted God does the watering and the harvesting. We are called to pray, to love and to minister to each other. Not to judge or to criticize. The greatest self wounding I do to myself is when I judge in ways that I have no right to do. In prayer I learn to see my reflection in others and to not make others suffer because of that.—Br.MD

I agree. There is a saying "Pray as you can, not as you can't". If it is not real, it is not prayer. Peace mark

Yes, it takes away a great deal of burden. The yoke of the Lord is light compared with the yoke of sin. Peace Mark

Of course, the author knows his intent, how it reaches others is another thing all together. If a person hears a song and thinks it is about loving God and uses it in a prayer service for instance, then its meaning is what he and those who hear it make of it. Though I would be sure the one who wrote the song would either be angry or amused. Human experience is universal of course, so even the a song that is secular in its outlook can bring out a response in someone that can lead to prayer for the plight of mankind. Peace Mark

I see your point. However music is a powerful tool in reaching the soul. It is up to the beholder how has to decide what the song meant. Once anyone listen to a song, in someway it becomes theirs. I do believe that the Holy Spirit can use anything to reach people, this song could be one way for some, for others they will see something different. Peace Mark