a voice from the past

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, let me sow pardon.
Where there is doubt, let me sow faith.
Where there is despair, let me give hope.
Where there is darkness, let me give light.
Where there is sadness, let me give joy.
O divine master, grant that I may
not try to be understood, but to understand;
not try to be loved, but to love.
Because it is in giving that we receive,
in forgiving that we are forgiven,
and in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Francis of Assisi, 1182-1226