How Francis Prayed

Sitting  on a stony ledge in the Italian countyside,

Francis prayed as follows:

Lift, O God, this burden from me,

This burden of living apart from the water and the earth,

Apart from the soaring birds, from the singing birds.

Lift, O God, the veil from my eyes,

So that I may see as you see,

See the interior of cells, and the system of the stars.

Lift, O God, this weight from me,

This weight that shuts out my sight,

Obscures my vision, blinds me from true sight.

Send, O God, one of your angels,

Send a winged angel clothed in white, and

Holding an Easter lily, and

O God, have that angel stay with me, and

Teach me how to bear this weight, and

How to see.

--April 21, 2013