042. 122. For the Aged.

122. For the Aged.

Ant. Even to your old age, I am He: and even to hoar hairs will I carry you.

Thy truth, Lord, endureth for ever, ty And Thou never failest them that put their trust in Thee.

O LORD GOD, Who hast mercifully ordained our weakness as a means of weaning ui from the world, ere we be called into Thine immediate Presence; Have mercy upon the aged.

Pardon the sins of their earlier life. Grant that they may use for penitence the time which remains. [Destroy whatever may be lingering within them of the longing for this world’s gain, or social mirth. Open their eyes to the solemnity of the end which is approaching.

Provide for them the instruction, the warning, and the consolation of Thy minister, and make them disposed to profit thereby. Arouse them out of false security. Quicken their prayers with faith and love. Soften their prejudices.

Calm their tempers. Deliver them from habits of long-continued sin. Bring them to realize the efficacy of the meansiof Thy restoring grace.

Fix their hearts upon objects of Divine satisfaction. Give them a foretaste of the joy of Thine everlasting kingdom. Stablish their hearts in the tranquillity of a life hallowed by communion with Thee. In their hours of wakeful repose, let Thy Holy Spirit refresh them with the consciousness of Thy ceaseless care. In their slumber, let Him seal to them instruction by His mysterious power. In their pain, let Him strengthen them to accomplish the work for which their life is prolonged. In their exhaustion, let Him so control them that they may rejoice to depend only upon Thee. Enable them to assist others by word and example in the way of holiness. Draw them to habitual intercession on behalf of those for whom they can no longer work.] Gladden them with domestic happiness by the children whom Thou hast given them.

Sweeten their solitude, if they are alone, by Thine own all-sufficing comfort. Perfect them, as their outer faculties decay, in the maturity of their spiritual energies, that they, having lived on earth in the communion of Thy saints, may attain, when the time of weakness and expectation shall be over, to a glorious resurrection of the flesh, and the eternal blessedness of Thy children; through the merits and mediation of Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.