Fire in the Soul. Richard L. Morgan

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СКАЧАТЬ fitful and ended at 3:00 a.m. Unable to sleep or even relax, I told myself, “You might as well get up and do something useful. Read Dick Morgan’s book and start writing the foreword for it.”What an incredible blessing this middle-of-the-night decision was. (Perhaps my faithful old guardian angel, Paula, nudged me out of my disturbing thoughts to provide me with the solace of this prayer book.) It is just what I—at fifty-two—needed. And it will continue to be just what I need if I make it to one hundred two!

      Fire in the Soul is based on Richard Morgan’s belief that “In a person’s later years, the life of prayer is not a luxury; it is an imperative priority . . . the one thing necessary,”a belief affirmed by his own experience of having lived seventy years. His reflection on his own and others’ aging process is the source of his strong conviction that we face seven major developmental tasks as we progress from being “young old”to “mature old”to the “oldest old.”These tasks range from discovering God’s call at retirement, to redeeming our suffering during times of frailty and pain, to finally facing our losses and the nearness of death. The honest and potent prayers—his own and others—“fit”each of these tasks to perfection.

      Fire in the Soul promises to help any reader reflect on personal aging as well as the aging of loved ones, clients, patients, parishioners, and the aging of our global society. It is not necessary that the reader be experiencing a particular stage of development to appreciate the prayers in all of the stages. For me on that dark night, reading the entire book from cover to cover was what I needed for my own spiritual nurture. Each and every prayer offered me a new and different glimmer of hope for my own aging—and for the aging of those in my care. I am firmly convinced that it is only when we who provide service to the elderly honestly encounter our own fears of aging that we can face those in the young-old, mature-old, and oldest-old categories with a new-found understanding of the meaning of late life.

      For the older adult, each prayer corresponds to a real-life spiritual need. There is no whitewashing of the challenging nature of spiritual tasks of later life in this work; Richard Morgan “tells it as it is”through his honesty with God in these prayers. He deals directly with the need to let go of grudges to the need to deal with the fact that one did not live up to his or her life potential. As he does in With Faces to the Evening Sun, his wonderful, life-giving book of poignant faith stories in the nursing home, Richard Morgan presents practical scenarios and offers simple but profound lessons. I especially appreciate the honesty with which he presents his own struggles.

      Fire in the Soul is a sourcebook of prayers and reflection for a variety of occasions and for many different kinds of users: older adults themselves, those ministering to older adults, and those just beginning to grapple with the reality of aging—all of us who desire to become emblazoned with the fire of God’s blessing of one hundred twenty years.

      Jane Marie Thibault, Ph.D.

      Clinical Gerontologist

       Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine

       School of Medicine, University of Louisville (Kentucky)

Preface

      In a person’s later years, the life of prayer is not a luxury—it is an imperative priority. Freed from the demands of family and work, we now have precious opportunities to move from “many things”to “the one thing necessary.”Gandhi called prayer the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening. Prayer unlocks doors of new opportunities. When Peter prayed at Caesarea, men from Cornelius stopped at his house and God opened a door for the Gentiles to be welcomed into the Christian church. Prayer is also a lock for the night. As the ancient psalmist prayed, “I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety”(Ps. 4:8).

      This prayer book is not to be read once and put away. It is intended as a constant guide for your spiritual life. You can open it at random or select readings by theme or section. You can keep it by your bedside and read a prayer to end the day, or keep it on the coffee- or kitchen table in your home to have available at any time. You will find treasured prayers of saints through the ages that we can make our own. The timelessness of these prayers makes this volume a continuing and valued resource.

      I wrote these prayers in the years following my “retirement”and tried to relate them to my own spiritual journey. They speak not only to my needs as an older person but also to countless others in the third and fourth ages of life. Also, these prayers can be guidelines for younger generations who seek a spiritual understanding of the later years.

      I have reached the magical age of seventy. As I reflect on the journey we call aging, I find that seven major tasks confront us in our later years. These prayers seek God’s help as we meet these late-life challenges.

      Two major tasks face the young old: (1) discovering God’s call at retirement, and (2) moving to deeper contemplation. When a person’s full-time work ends, a new vocation can begin. God continues to call us as long as we live. The earlier years of late life are a time for us deepen the inner life. All too often the temptation is to wallpaper the empty spaces with busy activities. But soul work—cultivating a contemplative life with God—is a never-ending challenge.

      The mature old face three tasks: (1) accepting our aging, (2) discerning the meaning of our stories, and (3) mentoring the next generations. When we first retire we try to deny our aging. Most of us want to live to a ripe old age, especially when we consider the alternative. We want to live long, but we don’t want to get old. Captivated by the cult of youth, we’ll do anything to deny that we are getting old. But as we do age, we discover that youth doesn’t have a monopoly on excitement, beauty, and achievement. We realize that the later years have their own unique value. As we begin to experience some of the inevitable issues of growing older, we come to accept our aging.

      Remembering the past is a way in which we can affirm our identity and the value of our own life story as we grow older. Claiming our stories—with their celebrations and crises—can bring a sense of integrity to our later years. The wisdom of older persons needs to be shared in a mentoring role with the next generations. We need to tell our own stories to younger generations so this valued wisdom will not be lost.

      For the oldest old, two challenges remain: (1) facing loss and death, and (2) redeeming our suffering. The crippling experience of a shrinking circle of friends, the loss of independence, and constant threats to health make us aware of our own mortality. We need to learn how to accept these losses and face our own death with courage and hope. As one lives longer and longer, physical decline, if not major assaults on the body, will occur. Depression may ensue, unless this suffering is transformed by a heroic spirit and a sense of humor.

      This Prayer Book for the Later Years addresses these major tasks. It is all too easy to give up hope and to despair as the later years bring their inevitable issues. Prayer bridges the gap between us and God.

      Nor is this book only for those in their later years. During our middle years we make financial preparation for retirement. We should also be building our spiritual income for old age. This book can provide that spiritual income for those anticipating the later years.

      In “Prayer Is the Soul’s Sincere Desire,”hymn writer James Montgomery said it well: “[Prayer] is the motion of a hidden fire that trembles in the breast.”All through history, God had kindled the flame of sacred love in the hearts of people. The ancient Levites received the command, “The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it shall not go out”(Lev. 6:12). Moses witnessed Yahweh’s awesome presence in the burning bush (Exod. 3:2) and led the Israelites out of bondage by a pillar of fire. Two disciples, walking on the road to Emmaus on that first Easter afternoon, had given up hope. But they were joined by a stranger whose presence caused their hearts to burn with hope and joy (Luke 24:32). СКАЧАТЬ