Lately I had the grace of celebrating the Eucharist for a ninety-two year old woman on her birthday. Needless to say, the experience was unforgettible. The charm, spontaneity and joyful spirit with which this woman and mother of nine children, of whom five are alive, is endowed with have left an indelible impression on my priestly mind and heart. When I reflected on the event I happily shared the view of the ancient Greek tragedian, Sophocles, when he wrote in his work Arcisius: “No man loves life like him that’s growing old”.

Unfortunately, the post-modern culture harbours a certain distrust and derision towards the elderly. The following appalling reflection by

Linus Carl Pauling says it in a nutshell. “When an old and distinguished person speaks to you, listen to him carefully and with respect - but do not believe him. Never put your trust into anything but your own intellect. Your elder, no matter whether he has gray hair or has lost his hair, no matter whether he is a Nobel laureate - may be wrong. The world progresses, year by year, century by century, as the members of the younger generation find out what was wrong among the things that their elders said. So you must always be skeptical – always think for yourself”. But can such a reductionist outlook on life instill hope in our society for a better future? My answer is certainly in the negative.

In fact, in the occasion marking the Jubilee of the Elderly, Pope John Paul II emphasized the indispensable role the elderly play towards a more humane and just society. “Dear brothers and sisters, elderly friends! In a world like this which often makes a myth of strength and power, it is your mission to witness to the values which truly count, going beyond appearances, and which endure forever because they are engraved on the heart of every human being and guaranteed by the Word of God.

Precisely as so-called ‘senior citizens’, you have a specific contribution to make to the development of a genuine ‘culture of life’– you have, we have, because I also belong to your age group – witnessing that every moment of our existence is a gift of God, and that every season of human life has special treasures to put at the disposal of all. You yourselves can experience how time spent without the disturbance of so many occupations can encourage a deeper reflection and a fuller dialogue with God in prayer. Your maturity also spurs you to share with those who are younger the wisdom accumulated with experience, sustaining them in their effort of growth and dedicating time and attention to them at the moment when they are opening themselves to the future and seeking their own way in life.

You can accomplish a truly precious task for them” (§ 5).

Reflecting in retrospect about my pastoral experience of celebrating the Eucharist at this ninety-two year old woman’s home, I greatly encourage my brother priests to celebrate the Eucharist Sacrifice on special occasions that mark an elderly person’s life. Since, as St Maximilian Kolbe put it, “the culmination of the Mass is not the consecration, but Communion”, is not the Mass an extraordinary moment of grace in which the multifarious life experiences that an elderly person goes through in her/his life journey are neatly brought together into a harmonious hymn of thanksgiving to God?

Fr Mario Attard

OFM Cap