The words of Pope Francis often had very down-to-earth meaning. Here are excerpts from an encouraging reflection, merely two months ago, on “old age” from the late Pontiff*:
“Yes, we must not be afraid of old age, we must not fear embracing becoming old, because life is life, and sugarcoating reality means betraying the truth of things. …Restoring pride to a term [“old age”] too often considered unhealthy is a gesture for which we should be grateful…
Because to say ‘old’ does not mean ‘to be discarded,’ as a degraded culture of waste sometimes leads us to think… Saying ‘old’ instead means saying experience, wisdom, knowledge, discernment, thoughtfulness, listening, slowness.
It is true, one becomes old, but this is not the problem: the problem is how one becomes old. If we live this time of life as a grace, and not with resentment; if we accept the time (even a long one) in which we experience diminished strength, the increasing fatigue of the body, the reflexes no longer what they were in our youth – with a sense of gratitude and thankfulness – well then, old age too becomes an age of life which…is truly fruitful and capable of radiating goodness.”
And for those readers who believe in eternal life, the Pope concludes:
“…death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something. It is a ‘new’ beginning… because we will live something we have never fully lived before: eternity.”
Rest in Peace, El Papa Francisco.
*David Chiu, www.msn.com.
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, tax, legal or accounting advice.