One Way to Start the Day on the Right Foot - Part 2
Last time, we began to pull apart this wonderful prayer by St. Francis Xavier - a prayer that can serve as a perfect way to start the day on the right foot.
“I adore You, God the Father, who created me, I adore You, God the Son, who redeemed me, I adore You, God the Holy Ghost who have sanctified me, and continue to carry on the work of my sanctification. I consecrate this day entirely to Your love and to Your greater glory. I know not what this day will bring me either pleasant or troublesome, whether I shall be happy or sorrowful, shall enjoy consolation or undergo pain and grief, it shall be as You please; I give myself into Your hands and submit myself to whatever You will.”
We recognized his description of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as one that combines depth and simplicity. Now as we continue with the rest of the prayer, let's see how we can apply these words to our work day.
"I consecrate this day entirely to Your love, and to Your greater glory."
Right off the bat, St. Francis consecrates this day to God, to His greater glory. In so doing, he recognizes that God loves us. This love of God for us calls forth our love of God. So it's much more than a kind of "formal" declaration. Immediately upon consecrating this day to God and His greater glory, love enters the picture. To pray such words reminds me of how a musician takes the notes on a page and turns them into sheer aural beauty that touches the heart. St. Francis here takes words and phrases we've seen so many times before: "consecrate," "the greater glory of God." He shows us how love infuses them with life.
With our souls now immediately in touch with God's love, St Francis looks forward to the coming day.
"I know not what this day will bring me either pleasant or troublesome, whether I shall be happy or sorrowful, shall enjoy consolation or undergo pain and grief..."
He immediately recognizes the reality that the future will always be unknown to us. Contrast this realistic, concrete view of our world with "positive thinking" - a superficial practice that can be oh-so-misleading when blindly repeated. It especially misleads if it implies that keeping a "positive attitude" will preclude pain and suffering. It won't. Be positive if it suits your temperament. Just don't kid yourself.
St. Francis not only recognizes the mystery of the unknown as we face a new day, but he offers us the contrasting possibilities: The day may be "pleasant or troublesome." Whatever the day itself brings, we ourselves may be "happy or sorrowful." And whatever direction the day takes, whichever particular frame of mind we find ourselves in, however our emotions percolate through it all, we may find either consolation or pain and grief.
And what determines whether it's consolation or grief?
"...it shall be as You please."
This recognition of the ultimate supremacy of God's will encompasses every possibility. God will always give us the grace we need to face any trial, but He may not always send us roses and lollypops. In fact, He may permit some pretty nasty stuff to come our way today.
Even a day that begins on the right foot can quickly and easily flip over. A simple recent example:
Recently, I began my day as usual. It included a stretch of challenging physical exercise. I've done the moves before. But this particular morning, one of them threw out my lower back. It's a rarity to have that happen, but occasionally it does.
If I were St. Francis, I might have said, in the words of his prayer, "I give myself into Your hands and submit myself to whatever You will."
But even in my humble less-than-saintly state, some of my daily study and spiritual reading must have sunk in over the years. It didn't take too long to recognize God's hand in this. And - by His grace - I was able to abandon myself, even in the midst of great pain, to His Will. Thanks be to God!
Guess what? I'm no saint. If I could to this, you can too. Maybe St. Francis's "morning prayer" will help you do so the next time misfortune comes your way.
Then again, today may be one of those "great days" people wish upon us. ("Have a great day!") If that's the case, well, great! Either way, maybe with the help of St. Francis's beautiful prayer, let's all start the day on the right foot.
“I adore You, God the Father, who created me, I adore You, God the Son, who redeemed me, I adore You, God the Holy Ghost who have sanctified me, and continue to carry on the work of my sanctification. I consecrate this day entirely to Your love and to Your greater glory. I know not what this day will bring me either pleasant or troublesome, whether I shall be happy or sorrowful, shall enjoy consolation or undergo pain and grief, it shall be as You please; I give myself into Your hands and submit myself to whatever You will.”
We recognized his description of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as one that combines depth and simplicity. Now as we continue with the rest of the prayer, let's see how we can apply these words to our work day.
"I consecrate this day entirely to Your love, and to Your greater glory."
Right off the bat, St. Francis consecrates this day to God, to His greater glory. In so doing, he recognizes that God loves us. This love of God for us calls forth our love of God. So it's much more than a kind of "formal" declaration. Immediately upon consecrating this day to God and His greater glory, love enters the picture. To pray such words reminds me of how a musician takes the notes on a page and turns them into sheer aural beauty that touches the heart. St. Francis here takes words and phrases we've seen so many times before: "consecrate," "the greater glory of God." He shows us how love infuses them with life.
With our souls now immediately in touch with God's love, St Francis looks forward to the coming day.
"I know not what this day will bring me either pleasant or troublesome, whether I shall be happy or sorrowful, shall enjoy consolation or undergo pain and grief..."
He immediately recognizes the reality that the future will always be unknown to us. Contrast this realistic, concrete view of our world with "positive thinking" - a superficial practice that can be oh-so-misleading when blindly repeated. It especially misleads if it implies that keeping a "positive attitude" will preclude pain and suffering. It won't. Be positive if it suits your temperament. Just don't kid yourself.
St. Francis not only recognizes the mystery of the unknown as we face a new day, but he offers us the contrasting possibilities: The day may be "pleasant or troublesome." Whatever the day itself brings, we ourselves may be "happy or sorrowful." And whatever direction the day takes, whichever particular frame of mind we find ourselves in, however our emotions percolate through it all, we may find either consolation or pain and grief.
And what determines whether it's consolation or grief?
"...it shall be as You please."
This recognition of the ultimate supremacy of God's will encompasses every possibility. God will always give us the grace we need to face any trial, but He may not always send us roses and lollypops. In fact, He may permit some pretty nasty stuff to come our way today.
Even a day that begins on the right foot can quickly and easily flip over. A simple recent example:
Recently, I began my day as usual. It included a stretch of challenging physical exercise. I've done the moves before. But this particular morning, one of them threw out my lower back. It's a rarity to have that happen, but occasionally it does.
If I were St. Francis, I might have said, in the words of his prayer, "I give myself into Your hands and submit myself to whatever You will."
But even in my humble less-than-saintly state, some of my daily study and spiritual reading must have sunk in over the years. It didn't take too long to recognize God's hand in this. And - by His grace - I was able to abandon myself, even in the midst of great pain, to His Will. Thanks be to God!
Guess what? I'm no saint. If I could to this, you can too. Maybe St. Francis's "morning prayer" will help you do so the next time misfortune comes your way.
Then again, today may be one of those "great days" people wish upon us. ("Have a great day!") If that's the case, well, great! Either way, maybe with the help of St. Francis's beautiful prayer, let's all start the day on the right foot.
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