"Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding,
my entire will... Give me only your love and your grace and that is enough for me." Ignatius of Loyola

Loving God,

Please bless every mother and father who has Alzheimer’s disease.

He was with us children as we learned to walk.
-- Guide his uncertain steps today as his balance fails him.

She taught us to cross streets and be safe.
-- Help her not to get lost, even in her familiar surroundings.

He held us close in the terrors of the darkest nightmares.
-- May he not be frightened today by the reality of his life, which is strange and totally out of his control.

She cooked thousands of meals over decades of time.
-- Please allow her to accept the caring hand that now feeds her.

She changed diapers, Lord, and served you each time she did.
-- Please give her now the humility and grace to be served in this way.

Loving God, the familiar eyes of my mother
now respond with a blank stare.
She is unable to carry on a conversation,
to ask about her family
or to serve in the central role she has in our family.

Help my beloved father accept the surrender of his life these days.
Open his prayerful heart and fading mind
to be aware of your presence with him,
perhaps now closer than ever.

Give us, the family, the patience, courage and acceptance
to love her as she is and to support him, in his daily needs.

Adapted from “Prayers by and for Mothers”
Creighton U Online Ministries