Prayer of an Aging Priest

PRAYER OF AN AGING PRIEST[1]

Dearest Lord, teach me to grow gracefully.

Help me to see that my community does me no wrong

when gradually it takes from me my duties;

when it no longer seems to seek my views.

Rid me of my pride in all the “wisdom” I have learned.

Rid me of the illusion that I am indispensable.

Help me in this gradual detachment from earthly things

to grasp the meaning of your law of time.

Teach me, in this turn-over of work and workers,

to discern a striking expression of life’s constant renewal 

under the impulse of your providence.

And please, Lord, let me still be useful,

contributing to the world my optimism,

adding my prayers to the joyful fervor and courage

of those who now take their turn at the helm.

Let my life-style now become one of humble and serene

contact with the world in change,

shedding no tears for the past;

making of my human sufferings

a gift of reparation to all my brothers.

Let my leaving the field of action be simple and natural ─

like a glowing, cheerful sunset.

Lord, forgive me if only now in my tranquility

I begin to know how much you love me,

how much you’ve helped me.

And now, finally, may I have a clear, a deep understanding

of the joyful destiny you have prepared for me

guiding my every step from the first day of my life. 

Lord, teach me to grow old …. just so.

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[1] This prayer may also be relevant to aging religious sisters and lay persons. It first appeared in the newsletter of the Jesuit Province of Venice-Milan in May 1973. It has since been translated and widely reprinted; Michael Harter, SJ (ed), Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits (Chicago: Loyola Press, 1993), 176.