Mamie and old age
Men are living a life that is defined more by what we cannot do than by what we can do. Frequently, I have heard this sentence on the lips of the elderly, “Take advantage now that you are young because when you reach my age you won’t be able to do it.” In general, they refer to material joys, corporal delights or the satisfaction of desires for power, possession or pleasure.
His Holiness Pope John Paul II also became old, that is to say, he turned one year older every year and he also followed down the path of all humanity, submitted to illness and old age. Nevertheless, he wrote in a letter to the elderly that it is a privileged time to do a different service to the human community.
The elderly, full of wisdom, can give a wise judgment on the reality of mankind, on their own life, and they can bring a great amount of wisdom to life, frequently lived without reflection, in superficiality, in the carpe diem. They can also live their life of weakness, of illness, as a purification of their own life and as a collaboration in the mystery of the redemption of mankind.
I never saw Mamie speak to young people telling them to take advantage of their life in a sense that was not purely Christian. This did not imply that she distanced herself from the desires, longings, goals and objectives of the youth who were enthusiastic about their studies, their profession, their engagement and the possibility of forming a family or about the desire to give their life to God in the priesthood or religious life. On the contrary, I always saw her close to the young people, understanding their aspirations, accompanying them in their discouragements, sufferings and mishaps of life. I saw a Mamie who encouraged, sustained, exhorted, and reasoned with the young people who went to her house to open their heart to her. And I always saw her with the greatest respect for the freedom of each one. Her words were a point of reference and direction in the midst of perplexity and confusion. She asked them about their gifts, their tendencies, their desires and later she elevated all this supernaturally so that they could serenely give a response to all that they felt in their soul. But all this with great respect.
Mamie also began to lose agility and she could do less things. She would say, “Now I must sanctify my square meter.”
Her square meter was the armchair where she lived permanently praying and awaiting a call or a visit. She could do nothing more than that, until one day she told me, “My son, I am no longer any good to you. I can no longer leave notes when someone calls for you.” But I had to sincerely respond to her, “Yes Mamie, you are good for many things, because you in this armchair are offering your life to Our Lord and praying for our apostolate so that souls can hear the message of Jesus.”
Old age, just like illness, also has its Christian value. We must discover it. The lives of the Pope and of Mamie give testimony to this Christian value.
©HM Magazine No.128 - January/February 2006
