REMEMBERING THOSE WHO CANNOT REMEMBER
Prayers for those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease
And those who care for them.
 

OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray,
God of mercy and compassion be with us today
as we remember those who cannot remember.

We lift up to you their confusion and their pain.
We pray for the carers that they may have the strength
to continue their blessed work
and that they may receive the respite and support they need.
May we as a community recognise our responsibility to provide for those affected by Alzheimers Disease.
We ask this, in the Spirit, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
 
READING : from the Gospel of John 21:18-19
‘In all truth I tell you, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.’
 
REFLECTION
Beatitudes for the Aged  
Blessed are they who understand
Myfaltering steps and palsied hand.
Blessed are they who know that my ears today
Must strain to catch the things they say
Blessed are they who seem to know
That my eyes are dim and my wits are slow
Blessed are they with a cheery smile
Who stop to chat for a little while.
Blessed are they who never say
‘Youve told that story twice today’.
Blessed are they who know the ways
To bring back memories of yesterdays.
Blessed are they who make it known
That I am loved, respected, and not alone.
Blessed are they who know I am at a loss
To find the strength to carry the cross.
Blessed are they who ease the days
On my journey Home in loving ways.
   
REFLECTION
To My Mother, Old and Forgetful  
Its time to leave and I hug you,
All that is you in my life –
As I let it go
 
I leave the world as new;         
when snowdrops were new; and puppies,
and travel and books!
And my own body was new; my clothes and shoes,     
Because I was growing.
 
I leave my sense of home;
your tweeds, and brooches      
the paintings you did of trees,   
Your old desk and three-cornered chair,
The green and white vase for flowers
from the garden you made wherever you lived.
 
Your voice that speaks my name –
Your hands, the way they loved my children,
and showed it in deeds, over and over.
Before my memory worked
I lived in you, in your mind.
Now I do the remembering,
And tell you who you were, where you are
And what we are doing now
As I leave you – receding into the future,
It will coil and join up with the past,
And well be together, as always.
 
PRAYER  
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
 
CONCLUDING PRAYER 
O loving Father, who gave Your only Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die for our sake, we humbly ask you to comfort all those who are afflicted by Alzheimers Disease or any other form of dementia.
Help them to know Your all embracing love and to find Your peace.
Grant understanding and patience to their families and friends.
Help them to maintain their loving care until the end.
Comfort them then with the knowledge that their loved one
suffers no longer and is gone from this world, to be nearer to You.
Bless the work of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, its national council, regional committees, branches, support groups and all its members and friends.
We ask this in the name of Your Son, Our Saviour, Jesus Christ,
Amen.
 
From the book Circle of Care – Liturgies for times of special need,  a book of thoughtful prayers, reflections and liturgies designed to bring some of the healing light of Christ to a range of sensitive pastoral situations ranging from birth to death. Editor Fr Pat ODonoghue. Available from Veritas Publications. www.veritas.ie

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