When the signs of age begin to mark my body,
and still more when they touch my mind;
When the illness that is to diminish me or carry me off
strikes from without
or is born within me;
When the painful moment comes to which I suddenly
awaken to the fact that I am growing ill
or growing old; and
Above all at the last moment when I feel I am losing hold of myself and am absolutely passive
within the hands of the great unknown forces that have formed me,
In all these dark moments, 0 God,
Grant that I may understand that it is you—
provided only my faith is strong enough—
who is painfully parting the fibres of my being
in order to penetrate to the very
marrow of my substance and bear me away within yourself.
John Predmore, S.J., is a USA East Province Jesuit and was the pastor of Jordan's English language parish. He teaches art and directs BC High's adult spiritual formation programs. Formerly a retreat director in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Ignatian Spirituality is given through guided meditations, weekend-, 8-day, and 30-day Retreats based on The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatian Spirituality serves the contemporary world as people strive to develop a friendship with God.
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