PRAYER OF AN AGING NUN - 17th CENTURY

Lord, you know better than I know myself
that I am growing older and will some day be old.
Keep me from being talkative
and particularly from the fatal habit of thinking
that I must say something on every subject
and on every occasion.

Release me from craving to straighten out
everybody’s affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom,
it seems a pity not to use it all,
but you know, Lord,
that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind from the recital of endless details – give me wings to come to the point

I ask for grace enough to listen
to the tales of others’ pain. But seal my lips
on my own aches and pains – they are increasing,
and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter
as the years go by. Help me to endure them
with patience.

I dare not ask for improved memory
but for a growing humility
and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally
it is possible that I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet.
I do not want to be a saint –
some of them are so hard to live with –
but a sour old woman
is one of the crowning works of the devil!

Give me the ability to see good things
in unexpected places, and talents
in unexpected people. And give me, O Lord,
the grace to tell them so.

From Laughter, Silence and Shouting
by Kathy Keay, 1994 - Thanks to Dee Sitnik

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