Livin' on a Prayer

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Like all good Catholics I've spent the past few days planning my sacrifices. At Mike's suggestion I gave up Cadbury Creme Eggs but that didn't quite seem like enough. Today, though, as I was walking down the hall and heard a teacher and student yelling back and forth a snippet of a prayer ran through my head.

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace."

It's a piece of the Prayer of St Francis, and it inspired my second Lenten promise. Every day before I leave for work I'll recite the prayer to fortify me for the day ahead. Here's the full text of the prayer for all you non-Catholics out there:

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 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

I think it's something any educator should aspire to - putting aside your own wants and needs and concerns to serve your students more fully. It's a good way to live, but it's a particularly good way to teach.

Now, if only I could pass it along to the teacher who was ripping into that kid...