In this meditation, I bring our series on the Prayer of Saint Francis before the Crucifix to a close, reflecting on the final petition of the prayer: the desire for sense and knowledge.
Knowledge can give us information, but discernment helps us understand what matters and how we should respond. Francis asks for both — for a deeper awareness that allows us to choose wisely and to act with greater attention, compassion and openness to divine grace.
We begin by settling into the body and breath, letting go of what came before and what might follow. From that stillness, we allow Francis’s prayer to sound within us once again: asking for light in darkness, right faith, certain hope, perfect love, sense and knowledge.
As the meditation deepens, we consider how contemplative practice can accompany the decisions we make in everyday life. Rather than reacting automatically, we can create space to reflect, discern and listen.
This meditation offers a contemplative practice for discernment, decision-making and prayer, inviting us to bring greater awareness and wisdom into the choices of daily life.
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction: Sense and knowledge
00:40 – Opening bell
00:43 – Entering the present moment
01:50 – Letting go of past and future
02:25 – Resting in the breath
03:07 – The prayer for sense and knowledge
03:19 – Knowledge and discernment
04:25 – Choosing wisely through awareness
04:39 – Bringing decisions into meditation
05:26 – The full Prayer of Saint Francis
06:10 – Light, faith, hope and love
07:11 – Living with discernment
07:51 – Making decisions contemplatively
09:07 – Returning to the body
09:30 – Closing bell