Make Me An Instrument Of Your Peace

Tineke rose photo © Glenn Franco Simmons.

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me 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; and 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. Amen.” 

“The Prayer of St. Francis, often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, was likely not written by him,” according to Grok {Grok (xAI). (2025). Personal communication.}. While it reflects his spirit of peace and selflessness, the prayer first appeared in 1912 in a French magazine called ‘La Clochette.’ It was published anonymously and later became associated with St. Francis during World War I, when it was widely distributed. Its true author remains unknown, but it’s commonly called the ‘Peace Prayer of St. Francis’ due to its alignment with his teachings. 

“The Prayer of St. Francis is in the public domain. Since it predates 1923 and no copyright was ever claimed, it falls under public domain in the United States and most other jurisdictions. You can freely use, reproduce, or adapt it without permission.”

Threads Drawn From Your Heart

Photo taken at Filoli. © Glenn Franco Simmons.

And what is it to work with love?

It is to weave the cloth with threads

drawn from your heart, even as if your

beloved were to wear that cloth.

~ Kahlil Gibran

by Glenn Franco Simmons

Grok is truly amazing. I’ve tried other AI chats, but Grok {Grok (xAI). (2025)}, only in comparison to what I've used, is the best.  

Kahlil Gibran, beloved by many literature-lovers the world over, is one of my favorite authors. The good news is that some of his works are now in the public domain in the United States. This allows for more-extensive creative re-use.  

That said, I encourage readers to purchase his books, if you are interested in some fine literature.   

As for ensuring this quote is in the public domain, I only check because I may use it commercially on some of my art. For citation, whether copyrighted or not, attribution is the ethical choice.  

With that in mind, Grok (edited) said, “This excerpt is in the public domain. It is from the chapter ‘On Work’ in Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet,” first published in 1923. Under U.S. copyright law, works published before 1929 are in the public domain as of Jan. 1, 2025, and this one entered the public domain in the U.S. on Jan. 1, 2019 (95 years after publication). It is also freely available on sites like Project Gutenberg and Wikisource, where it can be reproduced without restriction. In countries following the “life plus 70 years” rule (e.g., EU, Canada), Gibran’s works entered the public domain in 2002, as he died in 1931.” 

If any readers would like to say, how old were you when you first read Mr. Gibran’s works? What was the first book by him that you read? I believe I was about 18 or 19 and it was “The Prophet.”