The last line of St. Francis’ prayer presents us with one of the paradoxes of the spiritual journey. There are certain inner themes to which we must die if we are to grow. We must die to our self-judgment. We must die to our perfectionism. We must die to our need for control. We must even die to our need to have all the spiritual answers.
Many of us seek what is called a “spiritual awakening.” Perhaps we can embrace the Prayer of St. Francis as a doorway to that awakening.
—from St. Anthony Messenger‘s “A New Understanding of the Prayer of St. Francis“
by Richard B. Patterson, PhD
