Customer Reviews

Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Kent Nerburn has written a small but powerful meditation on the prayer commonly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. He has moved the message of the prayer out of the Church proper and back into street where it's enduring truths still hold. The heart of all wisdom teaching is embodied in the prayer's simple lines, "Where there is hatred, let me sow love." What Nerburn has so effectively done in this book is tell stories that bring each line of the prayer alive and offer examples of it's profound blessing for our lives today.

Reviewer: Cory Giacobbe

This is an insightful, eloquent work. I appreciate that Kent Nerburn keeps honoring the mystery of life, crystallized here in his current work, on St. Francis, and his famous prayer.

Simple, powerful subject; simple, powerful book. There's an obscure song version of the prayer, that I was given to sing back in my Catholic all-girls high school. Replayed only in memory now, I've never again heard any singers perform that specific haunting melody and arrangement. It had a "descant" part, which I as high-soprano sang: a glorious flow of nonverbal, spiraling sound, overlapping the second-soprano and alto parts harmonizing on the actual verses, until all of us merged in a pulsating powerful finale. People would weep in hearing it (and I, in singing it). The author's style reminded me of this. He explores the verses in a quiet, clear, down-to-earth fashion, and yet somehow, audible to the "inner" ear, you might "hear" the counterpoint, a high wonderful rejoicing of the soul (at least, per my soul) in pondering chapter after chapter.

Each section focuses on one line of the prayer. My special favorite is the first chapter evoking the music of love that St. Francis embodies.

Kent Nerburn's book stimulated many realizations for me. (As did the books, The Way of St. Francis, by Murray Bodo, and Man With A Song by F. and H. Line).

In reading Mr. Nerburn's book, I saw clearly how the whole theme of St. Francis' life is that of welcoming. The prayer is an act of embracing. It somehow never registered for me until now, that Francis was of my own ancestry, Italian. At a time when there was no unified concept of an "Italy," at a time of warring city-states, Francis opened his arms, roamed, and welcomed. Ironic. In the latter's immediate world, there was little tourist-consciousness, or scenic appreciation. Villagers looked at forests and feared bandits. Looked at mountains and feared ambush, by enemy army forces. Looked at their nearby neighbors and feared espionage.

Yet here, as Mr. Nerburn exquisitely shows, is a man who felt beauty in viewing forests, mountains, people, and who blessed the outdoors. What an extraordinary mind! He went from place to place, fully expecting, with a miraculous faith in goodness, that fellow Italians would open their doors. He somehow knew they would share the little they had, their crust of bread with him -- and they did. (As did citizens of other lands, with him, later on). I really believe Francis was a forerunner of, what would later develop into, a modern Italian sensibility, love, reputation for, hospitality.

As a complement to this book, you might obtain an old film, The Miracle of Marcelino. In that movie, Italian Franciscan monks, in an Hispanic land, and their adopted orphan, a boy, experience a dramatic spiritual occurrence. With references to St. Francis' life at mealtime, and via the nature of the characters themselves, the very spirit of St. Francis, buoyant, magnanimous, subtly pervades this film. It's as if one is seeing St. Francis' prayer, discussed by Mr. Nerburn, take visible shape. I felt I was seeing St. Francis both as a boy, his sweetness, joy, liveliness, and also as the grown monks, open, caring, spiritually attuned.

Per this shimmering jewel of a book, Kent Nerburn, in his own manner, has accomplished the way of hospitality, harmonizing with his subject. The book prompts me to wonder that perhaps St. Francis deserves a whole line -- honoring mystics like him -- inserted into his own prayer: As in, "Where there is sadness, joy" I can imagine hearing, "Where there is drabness ... BEAUTY!"

I reread this book after reading Uberflavn's review. I think I know what he/she is missing. Francis met people where they are. This book meets people where they are. That is its genius. This book brings the prayer into an ordinary life. Maybe it's not doctrinally pure. Leave that to the curia. I want a book that shows me how the prayer can help my struggles in everyday life. This book does so better than any other. If you live in the world and not in a school of doctrinal theology, read this book. Francis would understand.

This book was excellent! The author speaks so openly and warmly about some very simple truths that we - at least I know I do - take forgranted and therefore often forget about practicing them in my life. I was so impressed by all that Kent said in this small book that I sat down and wrote him to tell him of my gratitude for his efforts in writing the book. It's one of those books that I felt good all over while/after reading it. I recommend this book very, very highly!

I have read many books on St. Francis. They inspire me, but they always they make him seem so distant from my own life and problems. This book has the magical ability to make his spirituality seem like something that applies to my life. Thanks, Kent Nerburn, for showing me that the spirit of St. Francis can be alive in my ordinary life, too.

Kent Nerburn's books are always filled with intelligence and compassion, and "Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace" is an excellent example of just how much head and heart can be beautifully installed into 129 pages. Nerburn's reflections on the Prayer of Saint Francis teach us more about ourselves than about the famous saint, and that is probably just fine with Francis.

Nerburn always emphasizes the practical. "I would rather try to manifest my belief in God than to profess it," he writes. In this way, Saint Francis and the self-admitted not-so-saintly Nerburn make a wonderful team. They teach us that we cannot successfully hide from the dark side of our world or of ourselves; that instead we must face even the "most frightening human emotion" --- hatred --- head on. The goal is not to become a saint, thank goodness, but to accept responsibility to do what we can to manifest, and not just profess, our own beliefs.

Congruent with its contents, the physical book itself makes an excellent gift. I keep several copies in my office to give away whenever I may be so moved --- by the spirit of Saint Francis perhaps. (Although I doubt that Francis is involved in book promotion)

I absolutely LOVED this book! Kent Nerburn's style is beautiful. He speaks from the depths of his soul. THe kindness and goodness that he possesses as a human being is obvious. The depth of his spirituality is rare and he makes you want to do all you can to follow in CHrist's footsteps. The imagery he uses is so awesome. He uses the language of words as it is meant to be used--descriptive and visual. I took several stories from his book and told them to my kids, trying to instill in them a sense of selflessness, of giving without thinking of the cost. Giving of self, because it's the right and good thing to do.
We are called to love others, putting God first, others second and self last, because that's what God asks us to do. I have read so many spiritual works, and this is one of my very favorites. I just ordered 2 more of his books. I can't wait to read them, as well!

Kent Nerburn explores every line of St. Francis' famous prayer in terms that are accessible, poetic, modern and timeless. I bought ten more copies to give as gifts. A truly wonderful read that I reach for again and again.

-and an easy read! I was very impressed with the author's ability to relate spiritual concepts to his personal experiences in such an eloquent way. I am not a big reader, yet I found myself absorbing the content of this book on a nightly basis, although not rushing through it in order to let all of the lessons sink in. While I was already familiar with the prayer of St. Francis, Mr. Nerburn's writings made the prayer come alive for me, allowing me to relate it to my everyday life. I recommend this book to anyone (not just Christians) wishing to develop their spiritual life.

Within one week I discovered the last four of Kent Nerburn's writings! From an excerpt of SIMPLE TRUTHS, titled The Spiritual Journey, one of our best reader friends sent two pages: "We are all born with a belief in God. It may not have a name or a face. We may not even see it as a God. But it is there."

As I finished reading, I was totally awed and inspired to seek out 4-5 others: SMALL GRACES, NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG, A HAUNTING REVERENCE, finally, MAKE ME AN ISTRUMENT OF YOUR PEACE! This 4th one gripped me from The Introduction thru all 14 Lines of the St Francis Prayer. He begins with God: "When we try to understand God, we are like children trying to hold sunlight in our hands. We recognize the presence of something ineffable and mysterious, but always it eludes our grasp." From simple to the profound!

"Occasionally in every tradition, a work emerges that seems to give us a glimpse of God and to contain the mystery and majesty that we so longingly seek. It is so clear, so simple, so direct and unassailable in its spiritual truth that it transends (all) analysis and understanding..." The Prayer of Saint Francis is such a work!

My favorite stories are in Chapter 3, Where there is injury, let me sow pardon, Kent spoke with a man who had dome hard time in a maximum security prison...His comment chilled the words into him: "You would not believe what lives inside the human heart. There really is such a thing as evil."

Chapter 7, And where there is sadness, joy... Kent drove a taxi cab for a few years. He tells the story of a little elderly lady who was going into her retirement home. He gave her a last free ride all thru town until she directed him to her landing place! Another surprize to me was Chapter 11, "It is in giving that we receive." He was asked to help instruct a young man, Phillip in juggling as his minisrty. Kent knew nothing about the art of juggling he guided him into juggling the Beatitudes in crisis centers. The experiences gave him new insight into his spiritual motivation!

When writers, Robert Bly, Joseph Girzone, Anne Lamott pay their complmentary accolades upon one's writing, that's enough to agee and continue to review Kent Nerburn's Native American, artistic, simple writing! Retired Chaplain Fred W Hood "Barbara377" (Fayetteville,GA United States)