Widely known as The Serenity Prayer this has often been attributed to St. Francis, but earliest known forms of it appeared in the early 20th century, and it is generally credited to Reinhold Niebuhr.

Lord, grant me the strength to change the things I can, the serenity to deal with the things I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference.

— Francis of Assisi

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Lord, grant me the strength to change the things I can, the serenity to deal with the things I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference." in the context of "Widely known as The Serenity Prayer this has often been attributed to St. Francis, but earliest known forms of it appeared in the early 20th century, and it is generally credited to Reinhold Niebuhr." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Francis of Assisi" (Misattributed) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Francis of Assisi

About Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1182 – October 3 1226) was an Italian religious leader and Catholic mystic who founded the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans. He is known as the patron saint of animals, birds, and the environment. Though baptized as Giovanni Bernardone he was commonly known as Francesco.