We are deeply saddened at the news of the death of Pope Francis. His spiritual leadership and voice for justice have been a gift to the church and a light to the world. His compassion and openness have helped model the kind of servant leadership Jesus embodied. And his willingness to challenge all of us with the Gospel values of care for the most vulnerable, and to use power to promote healing, are hallmarks of his papacy.
We give thanks today for the legacy of his leadership, the faithfulness of his witness, his heart which touched us, and his smile which reminded us to hold ourselves lightly. We hold Pope Francis in our hearts, and we pray for our Roman Catholic siblings as we grieve together and continue to place our hope in the resurrection promise of Jesus.
As we entrust Pope Francis to God’s eternal care, we are again reminded of the name he chose for himself when he became pope, and the saint whose life was a model of self-sacrifice and love, and whose prayer in The Book of Common Prayer invites us all to become instruments of God’s peace.
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we 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. Amen.
The Book of Common Prayer, “A Prayer Attributed to St. Francis” (p. 833)
