Anthem for Sunday December 7, 2008
Second Sunday in Advent, and Communion
LORD, MAKE ME AN INSTRUMENT OF THY PEACE
Music by Nancy Rexford
Tracy Surette, Soprano
Jennifer DeLorenzo, Alto
Nash Ryder, Violin
Sarah Vandewalle, Flute
Recording of performance on Dec 7, 2008
The words of this prayer, which most of us associate with St. Francis of Assisi, has recently been researched by a French scholar who discovered that it first appeared in a French periodical called La Clochette, n° 12, December 1912 (p. 285). A few years later it was printed on a devotional card with a picture of St. Francis of Assisi on the other side. That was how the association with St. Francis actually began, but the words seem so appropriate to that saint that it is no wonder we all now assume it is his. In this case, the popular fiction embodies a truth beyond the reach of historical fact.
The words as sung at Holy Trinity are as follows (see below for the original French prayer and its translation):
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, let me sow pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
not so much to be understood, as to understand;
not so much to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
for it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and by forgetting ourselves that we find ourselves,
for when we die to self, we are born in God.
Original French: Belle prière à faire pendant la Messe
Seigneur, faites de moi un instrument de votre paix.
Là où il y a de la haine, que je mette l’amour.
Là où il y a l’offense, que je mette le pardon.
Là où il y a la discorde, que je mette l’union.
Là où il y a l’erreur, que je mette la vérité.
Là où il y a le doute, que je mette la foi.
Là où il y a le désespoir, que je mette l’espérance.
Là où il y a les ténèbres, que je mette votre lumière.
Là où il y a la tristesse, que je mette la joie.Ô Maître,
que je ne cherche pas tant à être consolé qu’à consoler,
à être compris qu’à comprendre,
à être aimé qu’à aimer,
car c’est en donnant qu’on reçoit,
c’est en s’oubliant qu’on trouve,
c’est en pardonnant qu’on est pardonné,
c’est en mourant qu’on ressuscite à l’éternelle vie.English translation: Beautiful prayer to say at church
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Wherever there is hatred, may I put love.
Wherever there is injury, may I put pardon.
Whereever there is discord, may I put unity.
Wherever there is error, may I put truth.
Wherever there is doubt, may I put faith.
Wherever there is despair, may I put hope.
Wherever there is darkness, may I put Thy light.
Wherever there is sadness, may I put joy.O Master,
May I seek not so much to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand,
to be loved, as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in forgetting oneself that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is reborn to eternal life.
