Franciscan Penance Library

Saint Francis’ Prayer Before the Blessed Sacrament

We adore You, O Lord Jesus Christ, in this Church and all the Churches of the world, and we bless You, because, by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen. 

 

Saint Francis’ Prayer Before the Crucifix

Most High, glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me true faith, certain hope, and perfect charity, sense and knowledge, so that I may carry out Your holy and true command. Amen.

 

 

Saint Francis’ Greetings to the Blessed Virgin

Hail, Lady and Queen, holy Mary, Mother of God,
Virgin who became the Church, chosen by the Father in heaven,
consecrated by his beloved Son and his Spirit, the Comforter:
in you was and remains, the whole fullness of grace and everything that is good.
Hail, his palace, hail, his tabernacle, hail, his dwelling, hail, his robe,
hail, his handmaid, hail, his mother!

O holy Mother, sweet and fair to see,
for us beseech the King, your dearest Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
to death for us delivered: that in his pitying clemency, 
and by virtue of his most holy incarnation and bitter death,
he may pardon our sins.

Holy Virgin Mary, among all the women of the world, there is none like you.
You are the daughter and handmaid of the most high King, Father of heaven.
You are the mother of our most holy Lord Jesus Christ.
You are the bride of the Holy Spirit.
Pray for us, with St. Michael the archangel, and all the powers of heaven
and all the saints,
to your most holy and beloved Son, our Lord and Master, Amen.
 

Saint Francis’ Prayer Praising Mary the Mother of God

Hail, O Lady, Holy Queen, Mary, holy Mother of God:
you are the Virgin made Church chosen by the most Holy Father in heaven
whom He consecrated with His most holy beloved Son and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,
in whom there was and is all fullness of grace and every good.

Hail His Palace! Hail His Tabernacle!
Hail His Dwelling! Hail His Robe!
Hail His Servant! Hail His Mother!

And hail all you holy virtues Which are poured into the hearts of the faithful
through the grace and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit,
that from being unbelievers, you may make them faithful to God. Amen.

 

Saint Francis’ Blessing to Brother Leo

The Lord bless you and keep you; May He show His face to you and have mercy.
May He turn His countenance to you and give you peace. The Lord bless you, Brother Leo. 


Saint Francis’ Canticle of All Creatures

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord, All praise is Yours, all glory, all honour and all blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.

Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour, Of You Most High, he bears the likeness.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
In the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all weather’s moods, by which You cherish all that You have made.

Praised be You my Lord through Sister Water, So useful, humble, precious and pure.

Praised be You my Lord through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You my Lord through our Sister, Mother Earth who sustains and governs us,
producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.

Praise be You my Lord through those who grant pardon for love of You and bear sickness and trial.
Blessed are those who endure in peace, By You Most High, they will be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Death, from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Blessed are they She finds doing Your Will. No second death can do them harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks, And serve Him with great humility.

 

Saint Francis’ Meditation Prayer

My God and my All!

Saint Francis’ Prayer in Praise of God, Given to Brother Leo

You are holy, Lord, the only God, and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong. You are great. You are the Most High. You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth. You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good, Lord God, living and true.
You are love. You are wisdom. You are humility. You are endurance.
You are rest. You are peace. You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation. You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
You are beauty. You are gentleness. You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender. You are our courage.
You are our haven and our hope. You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful Lord, God Almighty, Merciful Saviour. Amen.

Saint Francis' Canticle of Exhortation to Saint Clare and Her Sisters

Listen, little poor ones called by the Lord, who have come together from many parts and provinces.
Live always in truth, that you may die in obedience.
Do not look at the life outside, for that of the Spirit is better.
I beg you through great love, to use with discretion the alms which the Lord gives you.
Those who are weighed down by sickness and the others who are wearied because of them, 
All of you, bear it in peace.
For you will sell this fatigue at a very high price
And each of you will be crowned queen in heaven with the Virgin Mary.

Saint Francis' Appeal to God the Father

Almighty, eternal, just, and merciful God, grant us in our misery the grace to do for You alone
What we know You want us to do, and always to desire what pleases you.

Thus, inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened, and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit,
May we be able to follow in the footsteps of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And, by Your grace alone, may we make our way to You, Most High,
Who live and rule in perfect Trinity and simple Unity,
And are glorified God all-powerful forever and ever. Amen. 

Saint Francis' Prayer to Mary, the Mother of God

Holy Virgin Mary, among women, there is no one like you born into the world:
You are the daughter and the servant of the most high and supreme King and Father of heaven,
You are the mother of our most holy Lord Jesus Christ
You are the spouse of the Holy Spirit.
Pray for us with Saint Michael the Archangel and all the powers of the heavens and all the saints
To your most holy beloved Son, the Lord and Master.

Saint Francis' Praise of God

All powerful, most holy, most high, and supreme God:
All good, supreme good, totally good, You Who alone are good;
May we give You all praise, all glory, all thanks, all honor, all blessing, and all good things.
So be it. So be it. Amen.

Saint Francis' Prayer Inspired by the Our Father

O OUR most holy FATHER, Our Creator, Redeemer, Consoler, and Saviour, WHO ARE IN HEAVEN:
In the angels and in the saints, Enlightening them to love, because You, Lord, are light
Inflaming them to love, because You, Lord, are love Dwelling in them and filling them with happiness,
Because You, Lord, are the Supreme Good, the Eternal Good,
From Whom comes all good and without Whom there is no good.

HALLOWED BY YOUR NAME: May our knowledge of You become ever clearer
That we may know the breadth of Your blessings, the length of Your promises,
The height of Your majesty, the depth of Your judgments

YOUR KINGDOM COME: So that You may rule in us through Your grace
And enable us to come to Your kingdom where there is an unclouded vision of You,
A perfect love of You, a blessed companionship with You, an eternal enjoyment of You.

YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN:
That we may love You with our whole heart by always thinking of You,
With our whole soul by always desiring You,
With our whole mind by directing all our intentions to You and by seeking Your glory in everything,
And with our whole strength by spending all our energies and affections of soul and body
In the service of Your love and of nothing else,
And may we love our neighbors as ourselves by drawing them all with our whole strength to Your love,
By rejoicing in the good fortunes of others as well as our own,
And by sympathizing with the misfortunes of others and by giving offense to no one.

GIVE US THIS DAY: in memory and understanding and reverence of the love 
which Our Lord Jesus Christ had for us and of those things which He said and did and suffered for us.

OUR DAILY BREAD: Your own Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ

AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES: Through Your ineffable mercy,
Through the power of the Passion of Your Beloved Son,
Together with the merits and intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all Your chosen ones.

AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US: 
And whatever we do not forgive perfectly, do You, Lord, enable us to forgive to the full
So that we may truly love our enemies and fervently intercede for them before You, 
Returning no one evil for evil and striving to help everyone in You.

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION Hidden or obvious, Sudden or persistent

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL, Past, present, and to come.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit 
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. 

Saint Francis' Salutation of the Virtues

Hail, Queen Wisdom, may the Lord protect you with your sister, holy pure Simplicity.
Lady, holy Poverty, may the Lord protect you with your sister, holy Humility.
Lady, holy Charity, may the Lord protect you with your sister, holy Obedience.
O most holy Virtues, may the Lord protect all of you from Whom you come and proceed.
There is surely no one in the entire world who can posses any one of you unless he dies first.
Whoever possesses one [of you] and does not offend the others, possesses all.
And whoever offends one [of you] does not posses any and offends all.
And each one destroys vices and sins.
Holy Wisdom destroys Satan and all his subtlety.
Pure holy simplicity destroys all the wisdom of this world
and all the wisdom of the body.
Holy Poverty destroys the desire of riches and avarice and the cares of this world.
Holy Humility destroys pride and all the people who are in the world
and all things that belong to the world.
Holy Charity destroys every temptation of the devil and of the flesh and every carnal fear.
Holy Obedience destroys every wish of the body and of the flesh
and binds its mortified body to obedience of the Spirit and to obedience of one's brother,
and the person who possesses her is subject and submissive to all persons in the world
and not to man only but even to all beasts and wild animals
so that they may do whatever they want with him
inasmuch as it has been given to them from above by the Lord. 

 

Saint Francis' Prayer and Thanksgiving from the Earlier Rule (Regula non bullata)

All powerful, most holy, most high and supreme God, Holy and just Father,
Lord, King of heaven and earth,
We thank You for Yourself for through Your Holy will and through Your only Son with the Holy Spirit 
You have created all things spiritual and corporal and, having made us in Your own image and likeness,
You placed us in paradise. And through our own fault we have fallen.
And we thank You for as through Your Son You created us, so also,
Through Your holy love with which You have loved us,
You brought about His birth as true God and true man by the glorious, ever-virgin, most blessed, holy Mary
And You willed to redeem us captives through His cross and blood and death.
And we thank You for Your Son Himself will come again in the glory of His majesty
To send the wicked ones who have not done penance and who have not known You into the eternal fire,
And to say to all those who have known You and have adored You and have served You in penance:
"Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world."

And because all of us wretches and sinners are not worthy to pronounce Your name,
We humbly ask that our Lord Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son,
In whom You were well pleased, together with the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,
Give You thanks as it pleases You and Him for everything, He Who always satisfies You in everything through Whom You have done such great things for us. Alleluia!

And through Your love we humbly beg the glorious Mother, most blessed Mary, ever-virgin,
Blessed Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael and all the blessed choirs of seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations, principalities, powers, virtues, angels, archangels, blessed John the Baptist,
John the Evangelist, Peter, Paul, and the blessed patriarchs, prophets, the Innocents, apostles, evangelists, disciples, martyrs, confessors, and virgins, the blessed Elijah and Henoch, and all the saints who were, who will be, and who are, to give You thanks for these things as it pleases You, the supreme and true God, eternal and living, with Your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, world without end. Amen. Alleluia.

Saint Francis' Petition for Holiness from the Earlier Rule (Regula non bullata)

Therefore, let us desire nothing else, let us wish for nothing else, let nothing else please us and cause us delight, except our Creator and Redeemer and Savior, the one true God, Who is the Fullness of Good, all good, every good, the true and supreme good, Who alone is Good, merciful, and gentle, delectable and sweet, 
Who alone is holy and just and true, holy and right,
Who alone is kind, innocent, pure,
from Whom and through Whom and in Whom is all pardon, all grace, all glory of all the penitent and the just, of all the blessed who rejoice together in heaven.
Therefore, let nothing hinder us, nothing separate us, or nothing come between us.

Let all of us, wherever we are, in every place, at every hour, at every time of day, everyday and continually, believe truly and humbly and keep in our heart and love, honor, adore, serve, praise, and bless, glorify and exalt, magnify and give thanks to the most high and supreme eternal God, Trinity and Unity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Creator of all, Savior of all who believe in Him and hope in Him and love Him, Who is without beginning and without end, unchangeable, invisible, indescribable, ineffable, incomprehensible, unfathomable, blessed, worthy of praise, glorious, exalted on high, sublime, most high, gentle, lovable, delectable, and totally desirable above all else forever. Amen.