“Friends of The Aged”

There’s a retired priest at our parish. He is great … an excellent teacher, filled with the Holy Spirit, having lived many years serving the Lord … a wonderful witness of Jesus Christ. He once noted in a homily, “you know, I’m not getting any younger… I’m getting older… no, I’m actually old.”  Well, as an elderly co-worker once said, “the option to getting older is to be dead.”

Well, while we’re all getting older, some of us are actually old….. my older friends think I’m still young, while my younger friends think….. hmmm, not sure what they think. Nevertheless, if not old, I’m clearly on the threshold. 

I have to say that I can relate to much in the enclosed “Friendship to the Aged” poem. From some decline in my hearing and eyesight and memory to a “slowing of my wit”, I am experiencing a decline. Sometimes it takes two of us to put together a complete thought or remember a name, and those senior jokes are not quite as funny. Oh well, that’s the way the “ball crumbles” or is it “the cookie bounces”. 

Okay, what’s the point of this BLOG……. hmmmmmm. Well I guess there’s a couple of points. One: don’t take yourself too seriously; life always throws a few curve balls…. like aging. Second: let’s look for ways to help one other through our stages of life, whether the adolescent, the young family with a bunch of kids, the older family with teens, or the seniors. We all can use a helping hand at times. 

The greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength; the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves. So, let’s love one another. And this includes the seniors in our midst; those whose life abilities are waning.  “Let’s help them find the strength to carry their crosses and ease the days on their journey home”.  And that is very good news.