The Wisdom to Know the Difference: Fr. Jonathan Morris Unpacks the Serenity Prayer

THE SERENITY PRAYER

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

The Serenity Prayer is a familiar quote on wall plaques and greeting cards and lockets.

Originally written by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, The Serenity Prayer was recited in the second season of the American television drama “Desperate Housewives” and set to music by Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor.  It was prominently posted on the wall in Dr. Billy Pilgrim’s optometry office in Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical World War II novel Slaughterhouse-Five.

Today The Serenity Prayer is used by cancer support groups and, most famously, as the mantra of addiction recovery groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and other Twelve-Step groups.

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And now Fr. Jonathan Morris, popular Fox News analyst and campus minister at Columbia University, has written a book which shows that The Serenity Prayer, with its message of acceptance and hope, is for everyone.

The Way of Serenity: Finding Peace and Happiness in the Serenity Prayer focuses on the key concepts of acceptance, courage and wisdom.  Father Morris considers the prayer line by line, drawing on the wisdom of writers from the early Church Fathers through the modern age.  He finds his inspiration in the philosophy of Voltaire and the theology of Popes Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II, in the spiritual writings of Thomas à Kempis and in The Confessions of St. Augustine.

Father Morris illustrates The Serenity Prayer‘s simple yet universal appeal with case histories drawn from his own family life, and from the lives of people he’s known such as Thom Peters, Catholic blogger who suffered a life-changing injury in a diving accident.

The Serenity Prayer is just that–a prayer; and yet it has an appeal for believers and non-believers alike.  For people who feel helpless or overwhelmed or trapped by circumstances, The Serenity Prayer offers hope as well as practical advice for overcoming personal obstacles.  Father Morris considers the prayer phrase by phrase, asking (and then answering) important questions such as:

• What does it mean to accept with serenity the things we cannot change?
• How can we go about accepting unchanging realities?
• Where do we find the courage to change the things that are changeable?
• What is required in order to know what should and should not be changed?

In The Way of Serenity, Father Morris teaches his readers to trust in God and to live lives of serene acceptance, basking in God’s love–while at the same time using the gifts He’s given us, courage and wisdom, to effect positive change in our everyday lives.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, has praised Father Morris’s engaging down-to-earth style; and I’ve got to second that assessment.  The Way of Serenity is an engaging and well-told call to find greater serenity in life.  I recommend it highly.