"Lord, teach us to pray...." The Franciscan Prayer

What comes to your mind when you hear the name: Francis of Assisi? For many of us we probably envision a man responding lovingly to animals and fellow human beings. A peaceful pastoral image and perhaps true to his loving nature. But this thirteenth century saint was so much more.

Francis never intended to create a monastic order. All he truly desired was for the Church to return to the way of Jesus - how refreshing! But the more he lived his life in witness to the Master, the more people followed him and in the end the Order of the Friars Minor, better known as the Franciscans was established.

To pray without ceasing seemed to be the example of Francis. The narratives about his life tell of a man who offered short prayers throughout the day. All of his actions, it is said, were infused with prayer and Franciscan spirituality is marked by "free flowing, spontaneous, informal praise, and loving dialogue with God" (Prayer and Temperament, page 70).

What follows is the exercise borrowed from Teresa Blythe's informative book: 50 Ways to Pray: Practices from Many Traditions and Times

Intention
To be moved in spontaneous prayer for another.

The Exercise

• Decide on one daily activity involving others that you will use as your prayer. It could be a walk, time with your pet, a phone conversation, a task at work that you enjoy, or time of worship.
• Enter that activity with a short prayer of gratitude. Ask God to move your heart in prayer throughout the activity.
• As you proceed with the activity, be aware of times when your heart is moved. When this happens, offer a spontaneous silent prayer.
• Think of the other people (or creatures) involved in your activity and notice something of God's goodness and mercy in them. As you are moved, offer a spontaneous silent prayer for the person (or creature).
• Ask yourself: "What in this exercise helps me better understand God's activity in the world?"
• Be especially aware of the joy that you find in this activity and this person or persons. As you notice the joy, radiate the joy back to God in a silent, wordless way.
• When this activity ends, reflect on on how this prayer felt for you. How was it not to stop and pray but to keep going and praying at the same time? Is this how you pray naturally? where did you feel the presence of God most deeply? How did interaction with the other person change as a result of your spontaneous prayer?
• Close with a short final prayer. Be silent for a few moments and see what prayer forms in your heart. (50 Ways to Pray, page 128-129)

Love One Another - Brian