October 4 - Prayer to St. Francis of Assisi

O image of Christ, simple, humble, and pure, indeed you bore the marks of Jesus in your own body and in your own soul; wed to lady poverty, you embraced loving chastity and boasted of nothing but the Lord alone – pray, dear brother, for all children of God, for all your wayward brothers distracted by the wealth of this world, that we may be so blessed by the Spirit to serve the Lord and our neighbor as completely as you have done. May our lives, too, be prayers rising as a fragrant offering unto the Lord our God as we reflect His image in this world. Pray our hearts be set upon Jesus that we might follow in His blood-soaked footsteps in joy.