Prayer to St. Francis for Lent

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

     After the genocide, I suffered terribly from missing the presence of my parents, my brothers, and my grandparents;  I never knew that the quality of their unconditional love would not exist elsewhere.  Losing it, not from one of them, but all of them at the same time, left a huge emptiness in my heart, only long prayers and conversations with God could convince me that I was taken care of.  Once, someone who heard my story told me words that surely came from God and comforted me a lot.  He said, “You don’t seem broken as many survivors, but what you are missing is the affection of your loved ones, which can be as hurtful as anything else…” and then he said “However, in God’s infinite wisdom, what you are lacking you can still get. They're are two ways, you can get it: by giving it, especially to those who need it most, the orphans, the sick, the homeless... or from people who can love you genuinely…”  He also said something that was very meaningful “However, you can’t order people to love you unconditionally, you might be lucky to have those kind of people come into your life, but you don’t have to wait, the most sure way is the first one, to give that affection to those in need. That you can control!”  

      From then, I started to go to visit the children of the Mother Theresa orphanage, and I played with them, danced and sung with them. The wise man was right, my heart was full of joy and love. What amazed me is that he told me to give it to those who need it most if I truly want to experience unconditional love back!  My friends laugh at me when I tell them that God is very smart and truly very kind; you see, He told us to love one another as the greatest commandment; He knew how important this was, and how much we would need to love one another to be able to live this life; this was for our sakes, and so is everything He tells us in the bible, I mean everything!  He is like a parent who tells you to eat vegetables when all you want is cookies for dinner! As a child we don’t know, we just want to get what we like, not necessarily always, what is good for us; hurry to find out what He truly wants and let us try to do it without questioning Him or taking it lightly. 

     This prayer of St. Francis, is like a quick summation of the messages of the bible for me, it doesn’t get old, I can meditate on each word I've heard many times, yet I still find something that inspires me to live better.  When I found myself in a hard situation like that after the war, and I was missing my family or a friend to console me and to understand me, I reminded my heart of those words, “That I might not seek so much to be consoled as to console…”.   Though it was at times, a bitter-sweet place to be,  in the end if I only tried to redirect my heart towards consoling others and not expecting anything in return, it was then I was always the happiest. 

     St. Francis was right “It is in giving that we receive…”.  During this lent, I challenge myself and all of you, my friends, to try to encourage others daily, those around us, to use uplifting, loving, kind words when you are tempted not to.   Care for other people’s feelings of course without compromising the truth; sometimes silence is gold.  In your daily lives, give hope when there seems to be no hope, smile to the one who is sad, don’t hurry to judge, be grateful for the kindness you took for granted around you. I challenge you to think or write down a few things each day that you are grateful about, that you thank God for; it can be a gentle smile you received from a stranger when you needed it or someone who opened a door for you; you will quickly see how much God loves you, and you will want to give back that love!

Have a fruitful lent,

Immaculee

For My Facebook Friends and Blog Readers!

Dear Friends,


I want to thank you for the beautiful messages you have been posting on my Facebook page. I always read them with great interest. I keep you in my prayers and smile when I am praying!


It is a wonderful joy for me to be in touch with you through the Internet and speak to you in my tours. During my travels, I meet so many wonderful people. When people share how my story has touched them and changed their lives, it gives me a deeper understanding of why I had to experience what I did.  After all, we don’t live for ourselves alone, and our ultimate life is not here, anyway.


Your love is healing many survivors in Rwanda who otherwise would think that their pain and loss was worthless. Now they know that they are not alone. The world is crying for them, praying for them and learning from their pain.


When I was writing Left To Tell, I got stuck often. The only times I found it possible to write was when I envisioned my audience as my best friends. Only then was my heart able to open up and pour out the types of secrets that you only tell your friends. I thank you for responding to that.


I especially want to thank the young people I meet in schools—the ones who hear my story and who share the pain in their own lives. They sometimes describe how Left To Tell taught them that they don’t have to give up their zeal to study hard no matter what might be hurting in life, and to treat each other kindly. It is always uplifting to hear that.


When I was writing, I was often conflicted about whether or not to tell about some of the things that happened, especially when I thought about the young and innocent souls that would read the book and be so disappointed in humanity. We bring the young into the world with the intention of giving them a chance to have a good life, with the intention to love and protect. The young people who would read the book, I worried, might come to realize that we are not who they expected us to be.


Then I remembered that things like genocide don't exclude the young, which gave me the strength to share, hoping that maybe everyone would draw some lessons from this sad reality. Ultimately, I hoped, my readers would come to know what truly matters in life and what causes all these bad things. The genocide was caused by hatred. Only love will heal our world.


Beyond the genocide, however, my hope is that my story will continue to let you know—collectively and individually—that no matter who you are and no matter what you go through, please ignore the voice that tells you that you don’t matter, that you deserve the bad you go through, that you are not forgiven, that you are not beautiful, that nothing can change, that you are alone, that your life is over, that you are not loved, that you are too weak, too big, too small, it is too late, your efforts will amount to nothing…


Instead, listen to the voice that tells you it will be okay, don’t give up, the mess of today can be a blessing of tomorrow, God who made me is Almighty, He can do things for me, He forgives me and heals me, hold on to hope, don’t give up, love one another, I can do anything through God who makes me strong, forgive and forgive yourself…


For inspiration, look at what other people have suffered and have conquered. Consider and read the lives of the saints like St. Francis, St. Theresa, and others, and learn from them. Look at those who are our heros, people like Mandela and Mother Theresa. Even if you were to face death, or lose a loved one, remember that even in dying, we don’t lose if we have done our best. We can still die in peace and hope, because Heaven exists and Heaven is a paradise. Hold on to God no matter what, and try to do what pleases Him. Most of all, do not fear!


I want to thank all of those who have joined Apostles of Our Lady of Kibeho on Facebook, where we share the messages of Kibeho and share our journeys of faith! Mary, the Mother of God and Our Mother, who was given to us by Jesus when He was on the cross, came to prepare us in Rwanda. She came to remind us that we were not alone, that God loves us and that we have Her as a Mother. She came to warn us so that we could avoid the genocide, but we did not listen. Please listen to Her. It is not too late! She said that Her messages concern all of us in the world, and She pleads with us to know Her as Our Mother and talk to Her often. She wants us to help each other grow in faith. Thank you for doing it.


Love and blessings,


Immaculee


PS:    Somebody wrote this poem yesterday after I spoke at Yale University when I was signing books.  
Wow! It's beautiful and I love it!

The Cry Of God

The play ground was bare as the swing sets swayed in the wind

The echo of children’s laughter was silent

The cries of death already in the grave

The graves are not full yet

A war grew deeper in my heart

The anticipation of sure death was agonizing

As we huddled in deafening silence

Our eyes screamed with fear

Our hearts pounded the bony chest wall of our rib cage

As if it wanted to leap for freedom

The smell of death and horror permeated the air

I never had the chance to think before or did I

The church was riddled with bullets as the Virgin Mary statue gazed in horror

The floor screamed with the blood stains of my brothers and sister

This was living hell or was it

When I had to make friend with God

That was a so-real moment

They never found me, but I found myself

I prayed until I found peace

I learned how to love through the deepest 
and darkest moments of hate and pain

My soul ached for the bloodshed of my people

The sun hid her face from the rain clouds

As God cried….

Written by: Janice M. Hart. February 5, 2010