Yeah…this video sums it up…
BTW – Some of you will recognize the prayer in the video as it has been making the rounds under the name “An Franciscan Blessing.” However it actually has no connection to the Franciscans. It was written by the Benedictine Sister Ruth Fox of Sacred Heart Monastery for a Dickinson State University graduation in 1985. Sadly Sister Ruth Fox’s name has been removed from the blessing/prayer as it made the rounds online (I even posted it in 2013 without her name). =(
For the record, here is the original blessing:
May God bless you with discontent with easy answers, half truths, superficial relationships, so that you will live from deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, abuse, and exploitation of people, so that you will work for justice, equality, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you will reach out your hand to comfort them and to change their pain to joy.
May God bless you with the foolishness to think you can make a difference in this world, so that you will do the things which others tell you cannot be done.
If you have the courage to accept these blessings, then God will also bless you with:
- Happiness – because you will know that you have made life better for others.
- Inner peace – because you will have worked to secure an outer peace for others.
- Laughter – because your heart will be light.
- Faithful friends – because they will recognize your worth as a person.
These blessings are yours – not for the asking, but for the giving – from One who wants to be your companion, our God, who lives and reigns, forever and ever. Amen
Amen!
Sister Ruth was the first to refer to this as a Fransciscan blessing. While she is not a Franciscan, she used a four-fold pattern often used in Franciscan prayers as a sort of homage.