Aging Thoughts

The aging population poses a new set of challenges and, more than likely, many problems as the Pastoral Care of the Elders of the Lord are put on the drawing board. At the Conference on Pastoral Care in Rome, Cardinal Lozano said, “Aging is the most important stage of life, because from here humanity opens itself to eternal life.” That statement gives us much food for thought. According to Cardinal Lozano, the world’s average population age is 65 and there are over 390 million people that age today. It is estimated that number will be 800 million by 2025.

As the Agers of the 21st century we are seeking to find the core of the Mystery and Wonder that our aging brings to our country. As an aging person, I believe that aging is a force brought about by God Himself, that my aging teaches me how to become the being God created me to become as I traveled through the different seasons of my life. I am now the more authentic me. I can actually “be” and not always “doing” as I have for so long. Why not take a quiet moment to pat yourself on the back for all the good you have done in your youth?

The time has come for me to embrace my aging and all it has to offer me. This is the spiritual process of aging where I can become spiritually transformed by spiritualizing every moment of my aging.

Time is such a precious gift of God and that’s all I possess now. Celebrate the good and delight in the never-ending hope God is giving you right now. He is the “perfect getaway” for us and as we contemplate His beauty, be adventurous in your body, mind, spirit, heart and soul. It will change your whole attitude.

Growth in holiness leads to wisdom, but it does not happen automatically. It comes with an experience of a lifetime, cultivated with prayer and reflection. It is a realization that the “elder” person is always growing, learning, sharing, connecting the past with the future, a living legacy now and when they leave us for their eternal reward, remains an eternal legacy to future generations.

We should not be conditioned by our age but live it with a deep faith which leads us to wholeness as we have nothing to hide anymore. Who knows better than we elders what our needs are? We could help develop a Pastoral Plan for the Church as our spiritual needs are not being met. We simply need to talk to older people to understand their perspective on aging. The “ageless” Christ is truly present among them.

“Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish
in the courts of our God.
They shall bear fruit even in old age,
always vigorous and sturdy.” Psalm 92: 13-16

If we are at this stage, we have reached the wholeness and spirituality of aging. You have the sense of being complete, undivided and directed towards one goal, that one end called love, as embodied in Christ Jesus.

Sr. Martinette Rivers
Spiritual Gerontologist

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