A Message and Prayer for Peace

Dear Seattle University Community,

Today is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. In his most famous prayer – the one that bears his name – St. Francis encourages us to become instruments of peace. The prayer encourages us to actively seek to understand the perspective of others rather than simply trying to make others understand us. In this injunction, we find a profound distillation of the virtues that should animate the work of this university.

In these unsettled times, Seattle University’s distinctive mission offers us a way forward: educating the whole person for the service of others; forming future leaders for a just and humane world; and recognizing the dignity of each human being in our rich diversity of experiences and perspectives.

Confronted with numerous conflicts and tremendous suffering in the world, including here at home, I encourage us to reflect on the invitation of St. Francis to strive for peace and for the mutual understanding that makes peace possible:

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life