Be At Peace – A Prayer Of Francis de Sales

Francis de Sales devised a plan.

Until Francis (1567 – 1622), most believed that the only sure path to spiritual growth and connectedness to all things holy meant fully abandoning the ordinariness of every day life.

Cloistered away, spending many hours in prayer, contemplation, and spiritual transcendence, it was a life that probably both allured and repelled.

But for most who struggled with family, health concerns, and basic subsistence, it was simply an impractical, if not an impossible, way of life.

Francis hoped to change that.

And he did.

His plan was to show how a path to holiness was not hindered by our everyday experiences and interactions.

In fact, those daily transactions, whether in our family, with our neighbors, or in our business lives, could well enhance our walk.

Those very things can help teach us, guide us, and move us further along, if we can grasp and come to understand how better to observe, pray, and react in and through all things.

I invite you to pick up a new book, Live Today Well by Fr. Thomas Dailey, O.S.F.S, which skillfully summarizes how easily we can integrate Francis’ guidelines, his simple approach to holiness, within our daily lives.

Your prayers for me as I undertake my own journey on this path are also invited.

In the meantime, I will leave you with Francis’ Prayer of Peace that I trust will enter your heart – especially if this day brings with it undue anxiety, stress, or just the concerns of everyday life. I’ve also embedded a short video below about this remarkable Saint.

The Prayer of Francis de Sales

Be at Peace

Do not look forward in fear to the changes of life;

rather look to them with full hope as they arise.

God, whose very own you are,

will deliver you from out of them.

He has kept you hitherto,

and He will lead you safely through all things;

and when you cannot stand it,

God will bury you in his arms.

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;

the same everlasting Father who cares for you today

will take care of you then and everyday.

He will either shield you from suffering,

or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.

Be at peace,

and put aside all anxious thoughts and imagination.

Peace

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Prayer Credit Here