Lord, Make Us Servants Of Your Peace

Lord, make us servants of your peace;
where there is hate, may we sow love;
where there is hurt, may we forgive;
where there is strife, may we make one.

Where all is doubt, may we sow faith;
where all is gloom, may we sow hope,
where all is night, may we sow light;
where all is tears, may we sow joy.

Jesus, our Lord, may we not seek
to be consoled, but to console,
nor look to understanding hearts,
but look for hearts to understand.

May we not look for love’s return,
but seek to love unselfishly,
for in our giving we receive,
and in forgiving are forgiven.

Dying, we live, and are reborn
through death’s dark night to endless day;
Lord, make us servants of your peace,
to wake at last in heaven’s light.

Paraphrase of a prayer attributed to Francis of Assisi

Text: James Quinn (b. 1919)
Tune: DICKINSON COLLEGE, LM, by Lee Hastings Bristol, Jr. (1923-1979)