Wolfe: Modified Prayer of St. Francis

Wolfe: Modified Prayer of St. Francis

This week, we discussed the classic book on personality types and prayer styles, Prayer and Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types, by Monsignor Chester P. Michael and Marie C. Norrisey. The book is based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Assessment, and explains five types of personal prayer developed over the centuries.

If your prayer type is Augustinian (Intuition, Feeling NF)—which finds prayer most meaningful when Scripture or a message is written for or speaks directly to you—this modification of the Prayer of St. Francis may suit you. In this prayer, adapted by a spiritual director, Jane Wolfe, God/Jesus/The Holy Spirit is praying, speaking directly to you. Jane’s premise is that we can turn any petition into listening, thanksgiving, and praise—whatever we wish.

On the other hand, the more traditional version of the Prayer of St. Francis may be more meaningful to you when you pray directly to God. So, I have also included it.

Prayer of St. Francis

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.

Use it as a monthly reading, especially in Advent or Lent. Read one line daily for two days, as if God/Christ/Holy Spirit/your Higher Power says this to you. Then, begin again on the first day of each month.

1. I am the instrument of your peace.

2. Where there is hatred, I sow love.

3. Where there is injury, I pardon.

4. Where there is discord, I bring union.

5. Where there is doubt, I give faith.

6. Where there is despair, I bring hope.

7. Where there is darkness, I bring light.

8. Where there is sadness, I bring joy.

9. I console you.

10. I understand you.

11. I love you.

12. I give myself to you.

13. I pardon you.

14. I die for you.

15. I give you eternal life.

—Modified by Jane Lee Wolfe, “Spiritual Health and Fitness for the 21st Century,” Woodstock, Vermont. www.bogchapel.org

Our Personality and Our Prayer Life

Our Personality and Our Prayer Life

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is based on Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types or personality preferences in four areas: 

Energy Source. Introverts (I) get energy from inside themselves, while extroverts (E) get it from outside.

Information Method. Sensing (S) people gather factual data, while intuitive (N) people think of possibilities.

Decision Making. Thinking (T) people decide what is logical, while feeling (F) people decide on relationships and what is of value.

World View. Judging (J) people deal with the world in a planned, organized way, looking for closure when there is a problem, while Perceiving (P) people are more flexible and spontaneous, keeping options open. And when there is a problem, they keep gathering data.—Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey in Prayer and Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types (Open Door, Inc., 1991).

We have discussed how knowing the Myers-Briggs personality types can help live life on life’s terms. The classic book Prayer and Temperament tells us how the Myers-Briggs test is helpful in our spiritual life, especially in deciding how to pray. Lectio Divina or Benedictine Prayer is suitable for all personality types.

Augustinian Prayer emphasizes feeling and intuition, which may be best for the NF temperament.

The basic temperament of SP may best respond to Franciscan or prayer used by St. Francis.

Those with a temperament searching for truth, competency, and learning (NT) may best pray using the Thomistic or Dominican Spirituality of Thomas Aquinas.

The SJ temperament most easily understands the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, but NT and NF temperaments may also find the Exercises a rewarding form of prayer.

Ignatian prayer projects us into a scene, while Augustinian prayer transposes the words of the Bible so that the Bible is speaking directly to us.

Those practicing Franciscan Prayer (SP) must be free and able to go wherever the Spirit moves them. Their prayer leads to action, and their action is prayer. Therefore, they cannot tolerate long periods of silence.

Those who would best practice Thomistic Prayer (NT) are logical and orderly, thirst for truth, and address prayer almost like a scientific project or mystery to be solved.

Prayer became the mainstay of so many during the past pandemic. We learned several more ways to pray to enrich that time. We will talk more about it tomorrow.

Joanna Seibert   https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Prayer and Temperament

Prayer and Temperament

Myers-Briggs Personality Types

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is based on Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types or personality preferences in four areas.

1 How do you get your energy, and where do you focus your attention? Introvert (I) vs. extrovert (E). Do you get your energy from inside or outside of yourself?

2     How do you get your information? Sensing (S) or intuition (N). Do you gather factual data, or do you think of possibilities?

3     How do you make your decision? Thinking (T) or feeling (F). Do you decide what is logical or on relationships, and what is of value?

4     How do you deal with the world? Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). Do you deal with the world in a planned, organized way, or are you more flexible and spontaneous, keeping options open? When there is a problem, do you look for closure or keep gathering data?—David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates in Please Understand Me, Character and Temperament Types.

The Myers-Briggs Indicator test has been so helpful in understanding myself, my family, and those I work with. The above is, again, a short, very basic summary. There are also multiple books about it and tests you can use. When I talk to spiritual friends, I suggest they connect to a group or therapist who uses the indicator.

I remember how helpful this was in my medical practice. We soon learned that we needed all types in our group. We needed Js who wanted closure in solving problems, and Ps who tried to look at all the possibilities before deciding on an answer. We needed Ts, who wanted our group to look at what was logical, but we needed Fs, who looked at what was of value. We needed partners who were Is in our practice, who did not speak until they had processed an answer inside, but we needed Es who solved a problem by thinking outside and vocalizing their thought process. Finally, we need Ss who looked at concrete data, but Ns who looked at possibilities.

 So, the indicator can help us live life on life’s terms personally and in community, but how does it help our spiritual journey? Stay tuned. Knowing our type can help us decide what prayer practice best connects us to God.  

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/