Yeah We’re All Growing Older…
The hands of my mother at age 92.
In Monday’s post, I reflected on the birthday of my mother and granddaughter, connecting their special day to thoughts from the spiritual direction retreat I finished the same day I wrote that post.
My mother would have been 95 years old on Monday. I don’t know how birthdays are celebrated in Heaven, but that is where Mom’s party was held.
It’s a curious thing how age creeps up on us. My husband recalls his grandmother saying when she looked in the mirror, she couldn’t figure out how that old woman gazing back was the same as the young woman inside of her.
For my recent retreat, I was asked to prepare the Morning and Evening Prayers, focusing on ancient prayers from about the 5th to 15th Centuries. This assignment is the type of project I enjoy!
In my research, I ran across the following prayer of Teresa of Avila, a 16th Century nun. While on an educational pilgrimage to Spain three years ago, I learned to love and respect Teresa, a devoted, brilliant, and spunky woman.
While girls were generally not taught to read at that time, Teresa’s father insisted his daughter learn. She, in turn, insisted all nuns in the Carmelite convents she founded would be taught to read. She was a prolific author, probably best known for The Interior Castle, her book about the progression of the Christian soul through meditation and prayer.
When I discovered a prayer she wrote about growing older, I realized that no matter if we’re twenty something or ninety something, the reality is that each of us is growing older. For that reason, I decided to include it as one of the Morning Prayers.
I hope you will enjoy these amusing, more-than-400- year-old-insights from Teresa of Avila!
Teresa of Avila (1550-1582)
Growing Older[i]
Lord, You know better than I myself
that I am growing older and will someday be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking
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 free from the recital of endless details;
give me wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains;
they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them
is becoming sweeter as the years go by.
I dare not ask for improved memory,
but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness
when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet, for a sour old person
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, O Lord, the grace to tell them so. Amen.
May our journeys of growing older be filled with many joyful moments…
[i] https://cornerstone.ag/pdf/PDFPrayers/Prayer%20of%20Teresa%20ofAvila%20for%20Aging.pdf
