May 20, 2013
PART 4
Understanding-The First of the Sevenfold Gifts, St. Bonaventure
First, grant us the gift of understanding, by which your teachings may enlighten our minds.
In the words of St. Francis, “grant that I may not so much seek…to be understood, as to understand…”
O Heavenly Father, let us be slow in our desire to speak, swift in our willingness to listen. Through Christ, help us to give the benefit of the doubt to others. When we feel a hankering to jump to conclusions that are erroneous and based in rumors, be the One who calls us back to the ways of Jesus who always sought to make other people feel as if they have been understood. Amen.
