In this Year of St. Francis, Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity share Franciscan Friar of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe Fr. Rufino Zaragoza’s My God and My All. Fr. Rufino recounts the story of how the song developed from his personal prayer. May this encourage all who listen in their own path of spiritual practice.
Comments from Fr. Rufino Zaragoza OFM
The ‘refrain’ of this song was inspired from the story of St. Francis of Assisi and Bernard of Quintavalle, as found in Chapter II of The Little Flowers of Saint Francis. [A selection from that narrative:
Then Bernard of Assisi, one of the richest and most learned nobles of the city, began to consider deeply the conduct of St Francis; how utterly he despised the world, how patiently he suffered injuries, and how his faith remained firm, though he had been for two years an object of contempt and rejected by all. He began to think and say within himself, “It is evident that this brother must have received great graces from God”; and so resolved to invite him to sup and to sleep in his house. St Francis having accepted the invitation, Bernard, who was resolved to contemplate the sanctity of his guest, ordered a bed to be prepared for him in his own room, where a lamp burned all night.
Now St Francis, in order to conceal his sanctity, so soon as he entered the room, threw himself upon the bed, pretending to fall asleep. Bernard likewise soon after went to bed and began to snore as if sleeping soundly. (image: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
On this, St Francis, thinking that Bernard was really fast asleep, got up and began to pray. Raising his hands and eyes to heaven, he exclaimed with great devotion and fervor, “My God! my God!” at the same time weeping bitterly; and thus, he remained on his knees all night, repeating with great love and fervor the words, “My God! my God!” and none others.]
That prayer phrase, My God! My God! was a simple yet essential spiritual meditation of St. Francis. Later, based on a medieval Franciscan prayer manuscript, the phrase was expanded to My God and My All (Latin: Deus meus et omnia).
Aspiring to incorporate some form of imitation, I often used the five words, My God and My All, in my own spiritual practice in my early years of Franciscan formation. I would slowly recite the phrase My God and My All, first breathing in on the word my God, invoking the presence of God, to be aware of reception of the holy, the nearness and beauty of the Divine. With a release of breath, I would whisper and my all, as an expression of self-surrender and recalling that God is all that I ever need. This practice was an attempt to silence my mind, as I would sit in the presence of the Holy One. Also, I could imagine St. Francis and St. Clare at my left and right, as prayer companions, in this simple prayer of the breath, similar to a ‘centering prayer’ technique.
Over time, the name Jesus combined with the four words. A simple melody (the current refrain) developed as a prayer chant that I would use to begin my daily period of meditative practice. This recurring ostinato refrain then expanded into a simple song composed of a litany of phrases for Jesus, each verse ending with Jesus, my God and my all.
During this 800th Jubilee Year of Saint Francis, may this simple song, inspired by the poor man from Assisi, encourage and transform us in our Christ-focused journey in heralding the kingdom of God.
A note for musicians:
This YouTube is from a published octavo that is the fifth edition of My God and My All. First released in the collection Love’s Radiant Light in 1990, the song was later published as an English SAB choral octavo. In the following years a Spanish version (1998) was included in Flor y Canto and a Vietnamese version (2000) was selected for Chung Lời Tán Tụng and Thánh Ca Dân Chúa. This “Intercultural Octavo” brings the three languages together for the first time, along with a new SATB choral arrangement, descant for the fifth verse in all three languages, and a C instrument part. All available from ocp.org. https://choral.ocp.org/products/my-god-and-my-all-2499
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