{"id":4113,"date":"2015-10-28T06:32:56","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T11:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tomzampino\/?p=4113"},"modified":"2015-10-28T12:11:43","modified_gmt":"2015-10-28T17:11:43","slug":"be-at-peace-a-prayer-of-francis-de-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tomzampino\/2015\/10\/be-at-peace-a-prayer-of-francis-de-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Be At Peace – A Prayer Of Francis de Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Swans_on_Lake_McLaren_in_front_of_trees_in_autumn_colors\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Francis de Sales<\/a>\u00a0devised a plan.<\/p>\n

Until Francis\u00a0(1567 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

Cloistered away, spending many hours in prayer, contemplation, and spiritual transcendence, it was a life that probably both allured and repelled.<\/p>\n

But for most who struggled with family, health concerns, and basic subsistence, it was\u00a0simply\u00a0an impractical, if not an impossible, way of life.<\/p>\n

Francis hoped to change that<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And he did.<\/p>\n

His plan<\/em> was to show how a path to holiness was not hindered by our everyday experiences and interactions.<\/p>\n

In fact, those daily transactions, whether in our family, with our neighbors, or in our business lives, could well\u00a0enhance\u00a0<\/em>our walk.<\/p>\n

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

I invite you to pick up a new book,\u00a0Live Today Well<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Fr. Thomas Dailey, O.S.F.S, which skillfully summarizes how easily we can integrate Francis\u2019 guidelines,\u00a0his simple approach to holiness,\u00a0<\/em>within our daily lives.<\/p>\n

Your prayers for me\u00a0as I undertake my own journey on this path are also invited.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, I will leave you with Francis\u2019 Prayer of Peace that I trust will enter your heart \u2013 especially if this day brings with it undue anxiety, stress, or just the concerns of everyday life. I\u2019ve also embedded a short video below about this remarkable Saint.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Prayer of Francis de Sales<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Be at Peace<\/p>\n

Do not look forward in fear to the changes of life;<\/p>\n

rather look to them with full hope as they arise.<\/p>\n

God, whose very own you are,<\/p>\n

will deliver you from out of them.<\/p>\n

He has kept you hitherto,<\/p>\n

and He will lead you safely through all things;<\/p>\n

and when you cannot stand it,<\/p>\n

God will bury you in his arms.<\/p>\n

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;<\/p>\n

the same everlasting Father who cares for you today<\/p>\n

will take care of you then and everyday.<\/p>\n

He will either shield you from suffering,<\/p>\n

or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.<\/p>\n

Be at peace,<\/p>\n

and put aside all anxious thoughts and imagination.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n