Pope Francis greets an elderly woman as he meets with people in Asuncion, Paraguay, in this July 12, 2015, file photo. The pope has chosen the theme, “In old age they will still bear fruit” (Psalm 92:15), for the second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly July 24. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“Old age is no time to give up and lower the sails, but a season of enduring fruitfulness: a new mission awaits us and bids us to look to the future.” (Pope Francis, second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, July 24)
Honoring our grandparents and aging kupuna is a general practice here in Hawaii, yet many senior citizens experience fear and anxiety at getting older. But in his Angelus address on the first Sunday of August, our Holy Father reminds us of Jesus’s assuring words: “Do not be afraid” (Luke 12:32), no matter your stage in life. “We will come to see that growing old is more than the natural decline of the body or the inevitable passage of time, but the gift of a long life. Aging is not a condemnation, but a blessing!”
In his message, delivered at St. Peter’s Square, he continued this theme of comforting the old who feel imprisoned by feelings of distrust and anxiety. “It is the fear of failure, of not being acknowledged and loved; the fear of not being able to realize our plans, of never being happy, and so on.”
Amid these difficulties, he offered hope: “Trust in the Father who wants to give you all that you truly need. He has already given you his Son, his Kingdom, and he will always accompany you with his providence, taking care of you every day. Do not be afraid — this is the certainty that your hearts should be attached to … There is no need to worry and fret for our lives are firmly in God’s hands.”
The pope also encouraged us to remain watchful for the daily opportunities to encounter God revealed in vulnerable persons, including the often overlooked elderly. “Let us walk without fear, in the certainty that the Lord always accompanies us. And let us stay awake, lest it happen to us that we fall asleep while the Lord is passing by …”
Pope Francis said it’s important that we share God’s compassionate love with all our senior citizens by anticipating their needs and being mindful of their vulnerabilities. “Indeed, to love means being attentive to the other, being aware of his or her needs, being willing to listen and welcome, being ready.”
In his papal message the following Wednesday, he commended the elders for growing wiser and more noble with age, saying they can be assured of a place at the Lord’s table as their final destination: “Rejoice in the passing of time: it is not a threat, it is a promise … The elderly are a promise, a witness of promise. And the best is yet to come.”
This year, in his World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly message, Pope Francis said, “We grandparents and elderly people have a great responsibility: to teach the women and men of our time to regard others with the same understanding and loving gaze with which we regard our own grandchildren. We ourselves have grown in humanity by caring for others, and now we can be teachers of a way of life that is peaceful and attentive to those in greatest need.”
Our Holy Father calls all to honor grandparents and elderly citizens, as teachers of tenderness, and to care for kupuna everywhere, especially those who suffer from physical pain, loneliness, fear and anxiety. The pope quotes a compelling passage from Psalm 92, “In old age they will still bear fruit,” to remind all elderly that they still have much fruit to bear and a hopeful future which includes the promise of Jesus’s comforting words: “Let not your hearts be troubled … When I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:1-3).
Be not afraid! The best is yet to come.
For the full text of the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, please visit the Office for Social Ministry website, officeforsocialministry.org.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
