“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.” John 21:18
This true story told by Fr Paul O’Reilly SJ about one of his fellow Jesuits who had a stroke and found all he could do was ‘Orat pro Soc” (a latin abbreviation for “He Prays for the Church and Society”) really spoke to me. This priest discovered that his prayers changed his heart, and became the heart of the whole community. Fr Paul’s story about his fellow priest does not pretend the journey from being active to a more contemplative life is an easy one for any of us, but his witness is that new life was found in the whole community through one man’s prayers.
Fr Paul asks “In his memory, I would like to suggest that the next time any of us feels absolutely useless, valueless, a waste of space, a useless eater, and that the world might be a better place without us – and remember that most have us have such moments – think of Father John. Make your way to the Chapel and pray for the Church and the Society. And notice how that changes your heart and your life. There are worse jobs than ‘Orat pro Soc’. And that is the fundamental call of every Christian.”
Rachel Walker, Project Co-ordinator