Usually when I want to write something, I spend some time in silent pray. This time prudence, one of the virtues, came to my mind as I was praying. I consulted a Bible to find something about prudence, but I  could not find anything substantial. The Bible refers a lot to the prudent man, but shies away from the real definition of prudence. We find a lot of other virtues like wisdom and counsel, discretion, insight, and sound judgment. What is prudence? Prudence is considered a virtue, first among the cardinal virtues. St. Basil the Great remarks that: "Prudence must precede every action that we undertake; for if prudence be wanting, there is nothing, however good it may seem, which is not turned into evil." St. Thomas Aquinas tried to define prudence in similar words. It involves correct judgment, acquired by the infusion of grace. It is an intellectual virtue. It allows us to recognize the good and evil possibilities in any situation and to act in accord with the will of God.
These days, we do not use the word prudence, but it is understood when we say "common sense;" common sense has taken the place of prudence. Prudence is a much needed virtue for any Christian, as it is for a priest. There are a lot of expectations people have about their priest. The priest should be a wise, holy, and prudent man. Usually people consult him in making decisions.  
Prudence is always at work when we make a decision. We should never, ever, act or make a decision when we are discouraged. There are many ways we can become discouraged -- when we suffer a failure, fall into sin, or make a stupid move -- these are not the times to make a decision. We should not act in haste. When we want to make an important decision, we should never do it rashly. We should weigh all the options, consult, pray, reflect, take some reasonable amount of time, and then make a decision or act. To be prudent, we need to create a balance in our approach to life.  Pope John XXXIII helps us in this matter. He wrote in his book Journal of a Soul:  "Considering the purpose of my life I must ... desire only to be virtuous and holy, and so be pleasing to God. Direct all things to the service and glory of the Church. Recognize that I have been sent here by God, and, therefore, remain perfectly serene about all that happens. Entrust myself at all times to Divine Providence. Always arrange my day in an intelligent and orderly manner."
Each of us knows well how to make one's life more productive and purposeful, therefore, we need to plan it well. For me,  as a priest, I begin my day with prayer, divine office, holy Mass, and mediation; I try to get at least six hours of sleep, some exercise, maybe two meals, and some recreation or I else I get fatigued, irritable, and ineffective. A prudent person has such a rhythm, a planned regimen for the day, so that one can make sure  daily basics are being met.

This is not running away from responsibility, but meeting it effectively. This balanced approach to life avoids excess. Excess is not good in the long run. A more prudent way is to "keep our eyes on the prize," keeping our priorities straight.
Learn the simple wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola: "Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God Our Lord and by this means to save his soul. The  other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him in attaining the end for which he is created. Hence, man is to make use of them in as far as they help him in the attainment of his end, and he must rid himself of them in as far as they prove a hindrance to him. Therefore, we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, as far as we are allowed free choice and are not under any prohibition. Consequently, as far as we are concerned, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, a long life to a short life. The same holds for all other things. Our one desire and our choice should be what is more conducive to the end for which we are created."
Prudence helps us to keep our goals clear and in focus, our lives well-ordered and purposeful. Padre Pio had something to say about prudence: "You must always have both prudence and love. Prudence has the eyes, love has the legs! Love, which has the legs, wants to run to God and others, but its impulse to rush is blind and at times can stumble. So it must be guided by prudence, which has the eyes. When prudence sees that love could become unbridled, it loans its eyes to love. In this way, love restrains itself and, guided by prudence, acts as it should and not as it would like."
To be prudent does not mean a lack of creativity, daring, risk, or gamble. To be prudent does mean knowing how, when, and where to be so. For St. Paul writes: "The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God."