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A New Serenity Prayer – James Martin – Quote of the Week

April 5, 2014 By Jean Wise

serenity. healthy spirituality.orgGod, grant me the serenity

to accept the people I cannot change,

which is pretty much everyone,

since I’m clearly not you, God.

At least not the last time I checked.

 

And while you’re at it, God,

please give me the courage

to change what I need to change about myself,

which is frankly a lot, since, once again,

I’m not you, which means I’m not perfect.

It’s better for me to focus on changing myself

than to worry about changing other people,

who, as you’ll no doubt remember me saying,

I can’t change anyway.

 

Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up

whenever I think that I’m clearly smarter

than everyone else in the room,

that no one knows what they’re talking about except me,

or that I alone have all the answers.

 

Basically, God,

grant me the wisdom

to remember that I’m

not you. 

James Martin

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Filed Under: prayer, quotes

Comments

  1. soulstops says

    April 5, 2014 at 10:51 pm

    Oh, my, Jean…Yes!!! Such a basic truth but yet I need to be reminded all. the. time.

    • blankJean Wise says

      April 6, 2014 at 2:12 pm

      I love the way James Martin phrased/rephrased this prayer.

  2. blankIreneWachsler says

    April 5, 2014 at 9:22 pm

    Amen

    • blankJean Wise says

      April 6, 2014 at 2:11 pm

      Thanks for stopping by, Irene. Neat prayer, isn’t it?

      • blankIreneWachsler says

        April 6, 2014 at 2:46 pm

        Absolutely. It is very useful as I’m a CPA and it’s tax season. Also very helpful to remember when I was involved in a committee meeting last Monday night.

        I also like it because the prayer reflects Jewish philosophy (which makes sense since “Catholicism” was born out of Judaism.)

        Best,
        Irene

  3. blankCeil says

    April 5, 2014 at 2:55 pm

    Hi Jean! I LOVE this! Such a practical prayer, and really true for me. I read recently that people who always have to chime in with their opinion actually think they are smarter than everyone. Ouch!

    Focusing on changing me is really going to take up all my time anyway. I won’t have time to focus on anyone else. What a relief for everyone involved 🙂
    This was a great way to perk up my Saturday. Thank you friend!
    Ceil

    • blankJean Wise says

      April 5, 2014 at 7:27 pm

      I sure love this prayer too. I think James Martin is such a neat writer. Like most of his work. I agree with you when I finished reading it the first time, I said Ouch too.

  4. blankKathy Collard Miller says

    April 5, 2014 at 11:16 am

    Jean, I think that’s both humorous and meaningful along with being effective. I’d like to share it on my blog. Did you get permission from James Martin or what was necessary?

    • blankJean Wise says

      April 5, 2014 at 7:26 pm

      I used it as a quote so didn’t get permission. Found it originally on the Daily Prayer blog and they gave him credit. Now you are making me nervous. LOL I think though we are covered when using quotes and giving credit. Sometime when I have used poems, not prayers, I have wondered if I should have asked permission. One reason why I don’t quote poem very often anymore. Again I think as a quote I could use you and so could you. May have to ask some of my bloggy gurus for insight next time I see them… Happy weekend to you.

      • blankKathy Collard Miller says

        April 6, 2014 at 9:13 pm

        Jean, your answer sounds reasonable to me, especially to think of it as a quote and since the Daily Prayer blog didn’t give any reference for it (IE website). Glad to have his name. So many times we don’t even have that. Thanks again. I am going to use it.

Healthy Spirituality – a sacred space to nurture your faith, grow closer to God, and belong to a community, walking together on life’s journey. This blog is written by author, speaker and retreat leader Jean Wise

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