Prayer of the Elderly, Pope Saint John Paul II

Grant, O Lord of life,

That we may savor every season of our lives as a gift

filled with promise for the future.

Grant that we may lovingly accept your will,

and place ourselves each day in your merciful hands.

And when the moment of our definitive “passage” comes,

grant that we may face it with serenity,

without regret for what we shall leave behind.

For in meeting you,

after having sought you for so long,

we shall find once more every authentic good

which we have known here on earth,

in the company of all who have gone before us

marked with the sign of faith and hope.

Mary, Mother of pilgrim humanity,

pray for us “now and at the hour of our death.”

Keep us ever close to Jesus,

your beloved Son and our brother,

the Lord of life and glory. Amen!

Cf. Pope John Paul II, Letter to the Elderly © 1999 Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City. Used with permission. All rights reserved.