The present wide-spread phenomenon, at least in the Western world, is that of longevity, that is, old people seem to be living longer and longer. Today, people, unless struck down earlier by illness or accident, expect to live longer than their forebears ever did before.

Another phenomenon, again quite unique, is that the generation on the door-step of old age is the sixties generation that has taken pride in the manner in which it has revolutionized culture in all its aspects, including that of sexual behaviour, the concept of the family, and so on. This is also the generation that on a vast scale (Malta is an exception in this regard) has rejected God or rather lived as if He does not exist. Moreover it has, by and large, never posed the question of why we are here, where did we come from and, most importantly, where we are heading.

Many believe they can live happily ignoring God and believing only in oneself and in one’s capability to face life and its multiple problems. Death, the taboo subject of our times, is rarely thought of and hardly ever mentioned. Yet it has always been the one certain and inevitable reality in the life of each and every human being.

Glossy magazines keep telling us that active ageing is an aspiration that we can always aim for and succeed in. It certainly can and should be so. However, there comes a time, especially now that people are living longer, when this perforce ceases to be so. To live well into the eighties and nineties is now commonplace. The usual ailments of old age - immobility, failing eyesight, deafness, forgetfulness, depression, soon start taking their toll on otherwise healthy human beings. Then what?

Frequenting old people’s homes today here in Malta will result in one clear conclusion. Those who have had God in their lives earlier on (and at present they are the majority in this country) can withstand the ailments of old age, both physical and physiological, far better than those who have lived their life as if God did not exist or at least was only a dim figure on the side-lines.

Old age, like death, is a great leveller. It strips us all of our certainties and most of all of our pride, arrogance and illusions. Let us pray that when the time comes for us to join this particular ‘club’ we shall have the courage, wisdom and humility to turn for help to the One who has always been there, patiently waiting for us to go to Him, even if we have kept Him at arm’s length all our life. Only in this manner can the twilight of our lives, despite all ailments, become serene and even joyful, waiting for that blessed moment when we meet the Lord face to face, never to be separated again.

Jacqueline Calleja

Balzan