17th century

The Nun's Prayer

Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older, and will someday be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject, and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs.
Make me thoughtful but not moody: helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains.
They are increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years by.
I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others pains, but help me to endure them with patience.
I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility, and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a Saint - some of them are so hard to live with, but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people.
And, give me, 0 Lord, the grace to tell them so.

I had a copy on my bedroom wall and the the kitchen wall after I married. I think its time I put it up again!

Thank you for reminding me Fuschiarose!

It was said at my mum’s funeral.

I've never heard of it, but thank you fnk and Fuchsiarose for raising it and writing it down.
It is eerily relevant for me today

I have had a card with this on for years and whenever I read it I am reminded to not recite endless details and get to the point, one of many failings,

I have not met this before. It doesn't sound 17th century, somehow. The language of it makes me think that it is a 20th or 21st century construction - perhaps it is a modernised version of the original.

Oh I dont know that but I think its lovely.

Teach me the glorious lesson that I may be mistaken. We all seem to have lost that ability.

Never heard of it, but it strikes a cord

My somewhat cantankerous mil had a copy of this on her toilet door. I used to sit and read it - and wonder!

all of us on here need to read this!

These bits should be printed at the start of each GN thread -
"Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject, and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs.
Make me thoughtful but not moody: helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.

Amen to that! We all need reminding now and again. DH recently asked me not to address him entirely in imperatives which was a very salutory reminder to perhaps listen to myself occasionally.

Wow. Its so relevant that it's scary. Thanks for posting this.

My aunt had that on her wall. Given what she was like, a dear, but oh boy did she have a view on everything, even things she knew nothing about, and she had solutions for all. I can only assume its presence was an exercise in irony.

That would be such a good idea Elegran I agree about the language.

Very relevant to this day, love the bit about the 'vast store of wisdom'

I'd not heard of this but it's wonderful!

Hard to believe it was written so long ago.

With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end.

Great line!

Oopsminty I don't think it was. M first reaction was that the language was wrong for the 17th Century - too modern. When I looked online, I found that many linguistic experts agreed with me, and that it only appeared fairly recently.

Elegran I assumed it was a modern translation from the latin or another European language, possibly Spanish or French.

After reading your post I searched myself and, for me, the most significant point, is that it doesn't seem to have been known or have any presence before the mid-20th century.

If it had only been discovered then, then we would undoubtedly know the whats and wheres of the original document, including where it now is, and its original language, even if it was in English, as the version known now is obvious a modern interpretation of a putative original text. Like you, I think it was written relatively recently.

To be honest, I do not like it. It is too platitudiness for my taste. It smacks too much of those Patience Strong verses that used to be so popular in women's magazines.

Yes, Monica. Some of the sentiments in it are completely out of tune with the philosophy of that time.