Prayer of an Aging Priest (continuation)

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. 😊

(from page 454 of Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas, Vol. LXXXIX, No. 897, May – June 2013, also taken from the newsletter of the Jesuit Province of Venice-Milan in May 1973).