Tag: Franciscan blessing

A Blessing for Justice

On Sundays, I thought I’d highlight a blessing to start our week. This week’s theme is justice and these words from St. Francis seemed a good way to set the tone for our reflections.

May God bless you with discomfort,
At easy answers, half-truths
And superficial relationships
So that you may live
Deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression,
And exploitation of people,
So that you may work for
Justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain,
Rejection, hunger, and war,
So that you may reach out your hand
To comfort them and
To turn their pain to joy

And may God bless you
With enough foolishness
To believe that you can
Make a difference in the world,
So that you can do
What others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness
To all our children and the poor.

Amen

St. Francis of Assisi

BackyardThis post is Day 8 of the Write 31 Days Challenge. I’m spending the month of October writing about the Backyard Justice. You can find the entire series over at my Backyard Justice page.

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Poets Anonymous: Franciscan Blessing

Welcome to our monthly Poets Anonymous!

On the 15th of each month, I’ll post part of a poem. If you have a blog, post a poem on yours and share your link in the comments. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to share part of a poem in the comments. Or, I encourage you to simply read a poem today.

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships so that you amy live deep within your heart.

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

May god bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

Attributed to St. Francis

Share a favorite poem (or segment of one) in the comments!