Foreword
The following is not new and not mine. It was composed by St. Francis of Assisi around 1224-1225.
He was very ill and near the end of his life. He was nearly blind, in severe pain, and according to tradition he wrote the main body of the poem after a night of particular agony. There is also a belief that he wrote the final stanza welcoming “Sister Bodily Death” as he knew he was dying. Regardless of its history, the piece is remarkable for its poetic beauty, its love of the created world, and its spirituality that embraced suffering, mortality, and the physical world rather than fleeing from them. It may well be the most important early Christian text linking faith and ecology. It also presents the world as a community of creatures, and our praise and thanksgiving as the proper response.
I had read and studied this poem in other years, but it was heartening to read it again. This is why I am passing it along.
Thine be the praise, good Lord
omnipotent, most high. Thine
the honor, the glory, and every blessing.
To Thee alone, most high, do these belong;
to speak Thy name no living man is worthy.
Be praised, my Lord, with all that Thou hast made;
above all else the sun, our master and our brother,
whence Thy gift of daylight comes.
He is most fair, and radiant with great splendor,
and from Thee, most high, his meaning comes.
Be praised, my Lord, for our sister moon,
and for the stars;
Thou hast placed in the heavens their clear
and precious beauty.
Be praised, my Lord, for our brother wind
and for the air, in all weathers cloudy and clear,
whence comes sustenance for all which Thou hast made.
Be praised, my Lord, for our sister water,
who is most useful, precious, humble and pure.
Be praised, my Lord, for our brother fire,
for Thine is the power by which he lights the dark;
Thine are his beauty and joy, his vigor and strength.
Be praised, my Lord, for earth, our mother
and our sister;
by Thy power she sustains and governs us,
and puts forth fruit in great variety, with grass
and colorful flowers.
Be praised, my Lord, for those who forgive by the power of Thy love within them,
for those who bear infirmities and trials;
blessed are those who endure in peace,
for Thou at last shalt crown them, O most high.
Be praised, my Lord, for our sister bodily death,
from whom no living man escapes;
woe unto those who die in mortal sin,
but blessed be those whom death shall find
living by thy most sacred wishes,
for through the second death no harm
shall come to them.
Praise my Lord and give thanks unto Him;
bless my Lord and humbly serve Him.
