I have always loved “The Prayer of Saint Francis.”  To me, it contains the heart of the gospel message.  So imagine my surprise a few years ago when a sung version of the prayer was featured in the closing minutes of the series finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  This version, sung by Sarah McLachlan, is nearly perfect in capturing the prayer’s essence.  Her voice and the musical arrangement complement the words rather than detract from them.

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.
Amen.