Praying through Advent: Praying like St. Francis

Here’s a prayer for busy people in the busy season of Advent. It’s easy, portable and has a beautiful history.

Francis of Assisi (13^th century) never set out to found an order. He simply wanted to restore an old church in his town and to live as Jesus did—as a wandering preacher with as few material possessions as possible. Amazingly, people began to emulate Francis and the “Order of Friars Minor,” which we now call the Franciscans, was created.

I suspect part of the attraction to Francis was his style of prayer. He offered short prayers throughout the day—whenever his inner spirit was moved. For Francis, simple acts of loving service were infused with prayer. Franciscan spirituality is marked by “free-flowing, spontaneous, informal praising, and loving dialogue with God.”[i]

This practice is adapted from the chapter on “Franciscan Prayer” in Prayer and Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types, by Chester P. Michael and Marie C. Norrisey (Open Door, 1991).

The Practice

• Decide on one daily activity 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 in worship.

• Enter that activity with a short prayer of gratitude. Ask God to move your heart in prayer throughout the activity.

• Be aware as you proceed with the activity of when your heart is moved. As you feel touched, moved or inspired, offer a spontaneous silent prayer.

• Think of the other people (or creatures) in or around 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 activity—helps me better appreciate God’s activity in the world?

• Be especially aware of the joy that you find in this activity. As you notice the joy, radiate that joy back to God in a silent, wordless way.

• When the activity ends, reflect upon how this prayer felt for you. How was it to not 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?

• If you so desire, write about this prayer in a journal.

• Close with a final short prayer. Be silent for a few moments and see what short prayer forms in your heart.

For more about spiritual direction as I practice it, check out my website. Most of these prayer practices come from my book 50 Ways to Pray.  If interested, it can be purchased here.

[i] Prayer and Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types, by Chester P. Michael and Marie C. Norrisey (Open Door, 1991) p. 70. See their chapter on Franciscan Prayer on pages 69-78.