The Face of Mercy / Daniel Conway

Elderly, infirm pope preaches about the challenges, blessings of old age

(En Espanol)

On July 26, at the beginning of his penitential journey to Canada, Pope Francis reflected on the challenges and blessings of old age. By his own reckoning, the Holy Father is an old man at age 85, and as his use of either a wheelchair or a cane demonstrates, he is suffering from an infirmity that greatly reduces his mobility.

While celebrating Mass on the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus, the Holy Father said:

May Joachim and Anne intercede for us. May they help us to cherish the history that gave us life, and, for our part, to build a life-giving history. May they remind us of our spiritual duty to honor our grandparents and our elders, to treasure their presence among us in order to create a better future. A future in which the elderly are not cast aside because, from a “practical” standpoint, they are “no longer useful.” A future that does not judge the value of people simply by what they can produce. A future that is not indifferent to the need of the aged to be cared for and listened to.

By all accounts, the pope’s apostolic journey to Canada was an arduous one. We know it was emotionally draining because Pope Francis met with many of the indigenous peoples who either were personally abused by Church members or who represented family or others who suffered at the hands of overzealous, rigid proselytizers. But for the elderly, infirm pope this trip was also physically exhausting.

On his return flight to Rome, Pope Francis commented to journalists that he would either have to cut back on traveling or resign as pope. That set off a frenzy of media speculation that, as usual, missed the point.

Pope Francis was using his own recent experience to illustrate the importance of honoring our elders not for what they can “produce,” but because of what they have to offer us as guardians of a “life-giving history.” This is the legacy, the pope said, that our parents and grandparents in faith bequeath to us: “An inheritance that, quite apart from any claim to prestige or authority, intelligence or creativity in song or poetry, is centered on righteousness, on fidelity to God and his will.”

Pope Francis insists that he is not ready to resign. But he also refuses to rule it out as a possibility. No pope is irreplaceable, he says. Popes come and go, but the Holy Spirit continues to guide and direct the successors of Peter and the Apostles in their pastoral duty to obey Jesus’ command: “Feed my sheep” (Jn 21:17). As the pontiff proves by the witness of his own life and suffering, even an elderly, infirm pope has much to share with God’s people.

In light of his reflections on the “treasure” we have received from those who have gone before us, Pope Francis asks:

So, dear brothers and sisters, let us ask ourselves: Are we children and grandchildren capable of safeguarding this treasure that we have inherited? Do we remember the good teachings we have received? Do we talk to our elders, and take time to listen to them? And, in our increasingly well-equipped, modern and functional homes, do we know how to set aside a worthy space for preserving their memory, a special place, a small family memorial which, through precious pictures and objects, allows us to remember in prayer those who went before us? Have we kept their Bible, their rosary beads? In the fog of forgetfulness that overshadows our turbulent times, it is essential, brothers and sisters, to take care of our roots, to pray for and with our forebears, to dedicate time to remember and guard their legacy. This is how a family tree grows; this is how the future is built.

Respect for our elders is one important way individuals, families and communities can break through “the fog of forgetfulness that overshadows our turbulent times.” It is also essential if we ever hope to break free from the chains of indifference that prevent us from reaching out to those who are no longer productive or useful in the eyes of a pragmatic society.

Pope Francis believes that a bright future is available to us “if, with God’s help, we do not sever the bond that joins us with those who have gone before us, and if we foster dialogue with those who will come after us.”
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †