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;

And where there is sadness, joy;

O divine Master,

grant that I may not so much see 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.

– Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

When the state of the world is overwhelming, the grief is too heavy to carry, and all else fails, I have a tendency to fall back on familiar favorites for comfort — like running, baking, and praying. And when days like today make it tough to piece together a prayer of my own, again, I fall back on familiar favorites and look to someone else for words to express what I can’t. So today, that someone is you, St. Francis – and I thank you. Please pray for us.

The above photo was a bit of Valentine aftermath found in the slushy muck of a run earlier this week. Which feels appropriate, somehow. Love can endure even the harshest of circumstances.