Saint Francis' paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer
Our Father: Creator, Redeemer, Saviour and Comforter.
In Heaven: In
the angels and the saints. You give them light so that they may have
knowledge, because You are light. You inflame them so that they may
love, because You are love. You live continually in them so that they
may be happy, because You are the supreme good, the eternal good, and
it is from You all good comes and without You there is no good.
Hallowed be your name: May
our knowledge of You become ever clearer, so that we may realise the
breadth of Your blessings, the extent of Your promises, the height of
Your majesty and the depth of Your judgements.
Your kingdom come: So
that You may reign in us by Your grace and bring us to Your kingdom,
where we shall see You clearly, love You perfectly, be happy in Your
company and enjoy You for ever.
Your will be done, on Earth as in Heaven: That
we may love You with our whole heart by always thinking of You; with
our whole mind by directing our whole intention towards You and seeking
Your glory in everything; and with all our strength by spending all our
energies and affections of soul and body in the service of Your love
alone. And may we love our neighbour as ourselves, encouraging them all
to love You as best we can, rejoicing at the good fortune of others,
just as if it were our own, and sympathising with their misfortunes,
while giving offence to no one.
Give us today our daily bread: Your
own beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to remind us of the love He
showed for us and to help us to understand and appreciate it and
everything that He did or said or suffered.
And forgive us our sins: In
Your infinite mercy, and by the power of the passion of Your Son, our
Lord Jesus Christ, together with the merits and the intercession of the
Blessèd Virgin Mary and all the saints.
As we forgive those who sin against us: And
if we do not forgive perfectly, make us forgive perfectly, so that we
may truly love our enemies for love of You and pray fervently to You
for them, returning no one evil for evil, anxious only to serve
everybody in you.
Lead us not into temptation: Hidden or obvious, sudden or unforeseen.
But deliver us from evil: Present, past or future. Amen.