46. A prayer inspired by the Our Father

Francis had an ability to compose prayers and bring together many texts of Scripture from various sources. In this he showed a wonderful knowledge especially of the Psalms. In his Office of the Passion he composed Psalms by joining together verses from many Psalms. In his prayer based on the Our Father he did not join texts of Scripture together but made the prayer into a type of Creed. So the beginning of the prayer reads: 'O Our Father most holy, our Creator, Redeemer, Consoler, and Saviour'. In this prayer Francis prays in a manner that is positive, varied and abounds in petitions to the heavenly Father. For example, when he comes to the second part of the Our Father he says: 'Give us this day in remembrance, understanding, and reverence of that love which our Lord Jesus Christ had for us and of those things that He said and did and suffered for us, our daily Bread, Your own beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ'. He ends this prayer with the words: 'Forgive us our trespasses … as we forgive those who trespass against us, and what we do not completely forgive, make us, Lord, forgive completely that we may truly love our enemies because of You and we may fervently intercede for them before You, returning no one evil for evil and we may strive to help everyone in You'. It is not difficult to see that Francis throughout his life had meditated on the Our Father.