Today in our prayers for the people of Albania.
Prayer for Peace
Michael Wright
A Prayer for the Peace of Francis
Filling God,
You give us food and drink at your table, and you welcome us always,We are your spoiled children, ones who eat, drink, andare protected by your fatherly hand.We are nourished by your motherly embrace.
You clothe us as if we were royal, like you, Protected against the elements, A mixture of nature’s fibers and textures, Sometimes reflecting comfort, And other times our natural beauty is enhanced by that which we put on.
A most precious gift from your ultimate freedom, is our agency. As a loving parent, you have endowed us with Light within, And the ability to choose.
May we have the courage to take all we have been given by you And reject it to benefit the poor and the hungry.
May we journey toward the town square, where we show our true nature to those in need: May I take off my hat, sell it, and turn it into bread.
May my brother take off his shirt, sell it, and turn it into wine. May my sister take off her fine shoes, sell them, and turn them into corn.
May our costly bags that carry our earthly possessions be sold and turned into sweet fruit. May the scarf of finest silk be taken and sold for nourishing vegetables. May our belts of strong leather be sold and turned into life-giving protein.
As the hungry nourish themselves at the table-for-all,Paid for by the blessings of our labors,From gift to gift,We will accept only spiritual clothing from you,Draped with an armor of peace,And wrapped in a cloak of revelation.
We will then make our journey home, contemplating our choices of rejection and giving,Choose the next beautiful outfit,That we will once again turn into food fit for royals,The hungry and poor who will possess the kingdom of peace,Provided by selling piece for peace, making usAmbassadors of Zion,children of God.
We ask that our imaginations might run so wild that we might be like St. Francis,Who did just this and became a beggar himself.
We beg this in Jesus’ name,
Amen.