Creative Prayer of St. Francis

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on rethinkingyouthministry.com and is reprinted here with permission.
by Brian Kirk
Engage the creative gifts of students in this prayerful activity.
Divide your students into small groups of perhaps three or four. Give each group one line or portion of the prayer of Saint Francis below. Challenge students to create a graphic representation of their line of the prayer using a sheet of poster board and a variety of art materials.
Want to make it even more interesting? Give each group different materials to work with: paint for one group, magazines and glue for another, perhaps crayons and markers for another. When finished, have each group share its creation and have the groups work together to display the entire “illuminated” prayer in your youth space or in an area of the church where others can view and meditate on the prayer.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen