The Prayer of St Francis, Sayings of Brother Giles (39

If St Francis did not write the Prayer of St Francis,
who was the author?
What can we learn from this authorship?
How does the Catholic Prayer of St Francis compare
to the foundational Orthodox Prayer of St Ephrem?
Could the Golden Sayings of Brother Giles have
inspired the Prayer of St Francis?
What valuable wisdom can we glean in our
reflections on the Golden Sayings of Brother Giles?

Please, we welcome interesting questions in the
comments. Let us learn and reflect together!
At the end of our talk, we will discuss the sources
used for this video. Feel free to follow along in the
PowerPoint script we uploaded to SlideShare.

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The Prayer of St Francis has been an inspiration for many,
Mother Theresa, Pope John Paul II, many political leaders,
and even the Alcoholics Anonymous have repeated this
prayer.
Some criticize this prayer as focusing on the ME in the first
line of the prayer, saying this was out of character for St
Francis, though I can’t see how asking God to improve
yourself is somehow selfish. The prayer certainly does
emphasize the troubadour element of St Francis when it
sings, Let me bring joy into the world.

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offense, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.”
Prayer of St Francis
St Francis of Assisi, by Raphael, 1504

Prayer of St Francis, continued:
The closing stanzas are also mirrored:
“O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.”
St Francis of Assisi, by Philip Fruytiers, 1600's

We can say definitely that this prayer was not actually written by
St Francis, it first appeared in the December 1912 issue of the
French Catholic publication, La Clochette. Quite likely it was
penned by the founding editor, Father Esther Bouquerel. Around
1918, it was printed without attribution on the back side of a
holy card with a painting of St Francis. Someone then reprinted it
in an English translation in 1927, innocently misattributing it to St
Francis. Archbishop Francis Spellman printed millions of copies of
the prayer during World War II, and it was read into the
Congressional Record.

St Francis
Receiving the
Stigmata, by
Marco Zoppo,
1471

What can we learn from this? If this were an earlier work where we could
not so easily track its provenance, it would certainly be difficult to prove
it wasn’t written by St Francis simply by its contents.
When the Renaissance philologists were tracking down the ancient and
Carolingian Greek and Latin manuscripts in the dusty shelves of
monasteries, often these works did not have cover pages conveniently
revealing the names of the work and its author. Through scholarly
detective work through the centuries, starting with the able Renaissance
scholars, we have been able to attribute these works with a high degree
of accuracy, but the Prayer of St Francis misattribution suggests that,
indeed, at least a few of the ancient works have also been misattributed.

St Jerome in the scriptorium, by Master of Parral, 1490 / Scribe working on a manuscript, by Jean Le Tavernier, 1400's

One example is the Didache, it was considered lost
until 1873, when a Greek manuscript was discovered.
Once it was discovered, scholars realized that they
had the work along, most of it had been reprinted in
the Apostolic Constitutions, both of these works are
included in the Pre-Nicene Church Fathers volumes.

How does the Catholic Prayer of St Francis compare
to the Orthodox Prayer of St Ephrem? Of course, St
Ephrem, since he lived during the fourth century, is
considered a saint by both Catholics and Orthodox.

Prayer of St Ephrem
“O Lord and Master of my life,
take from me a spirit of despondency, sloth,
love of money, and idle talk.
But give to me, your servant,
a spirit of sober-mindedness, humility,
patience, and love.
Yes, O Lord and King,
grant me to see my own sins and not to
judge my brother,
since you are blessed to the ages. Amen.”

St Ephrem is one of many Church Fathers who teach
us that while we tend to excuse our own faults and
are eager to judge our neighbor, that instead we
should excuse the faults of our neighbor while being
eager to judge ourselves, seeking pardon for our sins.
The Prayer of St Francis likewise encourages us to be
kind to our neighbors, while being harsh towards our
own faults.

Dormition of
Saint Ephraim
the Syrian,
1400’s

St Francis did leave some simple compositions, such
as the Canticle of the Sun written when he was
blinded shortly before his death. These are the
opening stanzas:

St Francis, Author of the Canticle of the Sun
St Francis of Assisi, by Raphael, 1504
“Most High, all powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, the honor,
and all blessing.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no man is worthy to mention Your name.
Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day;
and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.”

St Francis then praises Sister Moon, Brother Wind,
Sister Water, Brother Fire, and Mother Earth
This is a song of praise to God, a prayer that
encourages us to be thankful for whatever we have
received in this life, this is a very different prayer than
the Prayer of St Francis.

Saint Francis of
Assisi Church,
Coyoacan,
Federal District,
Mexico

St Francis closes with these stanzas, since he
knows his days are numbered:
“Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give
pardon for Your love,
and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace
for by You, Most High, they shall be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no living man can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those who will find Your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.
Praise and bless my Lord, and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.”
St John the Baptist and St Francis of Assisi, by Workshop of El Greco, 1600's

St Francis also composed the Little Office of the
Passion, meant to be sung during services. Neither of
these works bear a strong resemblance to the Prayer
of St Francis.

Reflections: Golden Sayings of Brother Giles

Dr Wikipedia does mention that the Prayer of St Francis bears a
resemblance of many of the Golden Sayings of Brother Giles, one of the
original followers who travelled with St Francis to ask for the blessing of
their movement by Pope Innocent III. Although he was a simple farmer
and never acquired a theological and classical education, his simple
teachings and sayings inspired many, since he was so keen to repeat the
teachings of St Francis.
Later reformers such as Martin Luther and Erasmus criticized the
mendicant orders of monks like the Franciscans that often begged for
their sustenance, but Brother Giles supported himself by manual labor
and crafts whenever possible. There is not a direct correspondence
between these writings and the Prayer of St Francis, but some of his
writings do have the same type of couplings.

Brother Giles before Pope Gregory IX, by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1646 / Giles Statue

Brother Giles’ Golden Sayings opens with:
“The graces of God and virtues are the ladder
ascending into heaven;
but vices and sins are the way and the ladder
descending into hell.
Vices and sins are poison, but good works are
the antidotes.
Grace attracts grace, but vice leads to more vice.
The man of grace does not wish to be praised,
but the man of vice does not wish to be
despised or reproved,
which proceeds from pride.”
St Francis of Assisi, Studio of El Greco, 1600's

These blessings by Brother Giles
value giving over receiving:
“Blessed is he who loves, and does
not desire to be loved;
Blessed is he who fears, and does
not desire to be feared,”
This refers to our fear of God which
is nearly synonymous with our Love
of God.
“Blessed is he who serves and does
not desire to be served.”
Pope approving the order of the Franciscans, by Giotti, 1300

Other Golden Sayings of Brother Giles

We will reflect on other interesting
Golden Sayings of Brother Giles.

Brother Giles has some sayings about Love:
“To cultivate piety and kindness is a work
fruitful above every other work.”
Whatever is without love and benevolence is
not pleasing to God and His Saints.
By his own works, a man is made poor, but
by divine works he is made rich.
Therefore, a man must love divine things and
despise his own.”
Brother Giles also teaches us: “Humility is
like lighting. As the terrible flashes of
lightning dissipate, so humility dissipates
every evil, and is the foe of every sin, causing
man to esteem himself as nothing.”
Madonna & Child with St Francis, by Lorenzo Lotto, 1540

As we note in our study of the early monastic writers, laymen
cannot always follow the radical teachings applicable to monks in
monasteries and religious orders, but we can still learn from
teachings like this of Brother Giles:
(REPEAT) Brother Giles teaches us: “Do injury to no one; and if
anyone does injury to you, bear it patiently for the Love of God
and the remission of thy sins.”
Sometimes you have to defend your reputation against those
who slander you and wish to deprive you of your ability to earn a
living for your family, or to champion right causes in your
community.

Brother Giles teaches us, “Do injury
to no one; and if anyone does
injury to you, bear it patiently for
the Love of God and the remission
of thy sins.”
“Blessed is he who remembers his
own sin and the benefits of God,
and who patiently bears every trial
and tribulation, for he can hope for
great consolation.”
St Francis, by Bonaventura Berlingieri, 1235

Brother Giles teaches us, “Try to be
affable and virtuous and fight
against vices and bear tribulations
and shames with patience.”
Brother Giles teaches us: “It is
impossible for virtues to be
acquired without solicitude and
toil.” We reflect often on how we
must study how to live a godly life,
that it just does not come naturally
without reflection. Vision of St Francis of Assisi, by Trista, in the Louvre.

Brother Giles teaches us about penance: “A
man must first be sorry for his sins, then
confess uprightly, then perform humbly the
penance imposed upon him, afterwards keep
himself from all sin and every occasion of sin.
Finally, he ought to strive to do good works.”
“Sins are like burs which stick fast to the
clothes and can only with difficulty be
removed.”
Brother Giles teaches us, “Prayer is the
beginning and end of all good. Prayer illumines
the soul, and by it all good and evil is known.”
St Francis Receiving the Stigmata, by Peter Paul Rubens, 1635

(REPEAT) What are the graces and virtues acquired in prayer? Brother Giles teaches
us that the graces and virtues experienced by those men who truly pray are many:
• “The man who prays is enlightened in mind and strengthened in faith.
• Man knows his own miseries,” perhaps he means that man becomes aware of his
moral shortcomings.
• “Man is humiliated through holy fear, becoming despicable in his own eyes.” This
is a constant refrain of the monastics: that we are to judge ourselves but give our
neighbor the benefit of the doubt, rather than the reverse, which comes more
naturally to us.
• “Man is purified in conscience and confirmed in patience.
• Man is obedient with true discretion.
• The man who prays acquires understanding, wisdom, fortitude, and knowledge of
God, the God who manifests Himself in spirit and in truth.”

Brother Giles teaches us about the graces and
virtues acquired in prayer:
• “The man who prays is enlightened in mind and
strengthened in faith.
• Man knows his own miseries,” perhaps he means
that man becomes aware of his moral
shortcomings.
• “Man is humiliated through holy fear, becoming
despicable in his own eyes.” “Man is purified in
conscience and confirmed in patience.
• Man is obedient with true discretion.
• The man who prays acquires understanding,
wisdom, fortitude, and knowledge of God, the
God who manifests Himself in spirit and in truth.”
Ecstasy of St Francis, by Blas Muñoz, 1686

The Sayings of Brother Giles is not as well-known as the early
monastic writings such as the Philokalia and the Ladder of Divine
Ascent, and though it discusses similar topics, it really pales in
comparison to them. The Franciscan movement was anti-
intellectual movement during the life of St Francis. Although
Brother Giles does have some memorable quotes, much of his
advice does not translate well to be usable for the laymen, or
sometimes is just misleading. We can only wonder how much of
a visionary Brother Giles would have become if St Francis had
persuaded him to spend a few years studying at Paris or the
other leading universities of Europe, broadening his horizons and
intellect.

In the next generation, St Bonaventure was selected
as the leader of the Franciscan Order. St Bonaventure
had a distinguished education at the University of
Paris, and published many scholastic writings, as well
as The Life of St Francis. Under Bonaventure, the
Franciscans were primary influencers of Catholic
education before the founding of the Jesuit Order.
We plan to reflect on The Life of St Francis by St
Bonaventure in a future video.

St Bonaventure Enters the Franciscan Order, by Francisco
Herrera the Elder, 1628

We encourage you to study St John Climacus classic,
the Ladder of Divine Ascent, he touches on many of
the same topics as Brother Giles, and he is one of the
founders of the monastic tradition that spread from
the deserts of Egypt to the monasteries of Europe.
Since he was a seventh century monk, St John
Climacus is both an Orthodox and Catholic saint.

https://youtu.be/NiuWNsy4x4Q
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The Prayer of St Francis, Sayings of Brother Giles (39

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