Faith Perspectives on Growing Older

There is no shortage of articles on growing older these days, and the trend will undoubtably continue to grow as we "boomers" hit retirement. I regularly read the AARP "Bulletin," and always find something useful or pertinent for my own life.

However, I just read a simple article on growing older that was almost poetic. It was written by Fr. Patrick Howell, SJ, from whom I had the pleasure of taking a few classes a couple of years ago. The short article was published in the Seattle Times on 7/13, and you can find it in its entirety here.

Fr. Howell is the religious superior of a community of 30 Jesuits, and what makes the article very interesting is that it describes the question of growing older in his community -- 14 of whom are older than 70 years of age. I appreciated the faith-centered questions he touches on in his brief article.

...within my first month as rector, I was at the University of Washington Medical Center with one of our men when he received a diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer. He accepted it with great equanimity and a profound spiritual peace. I was moved and edified.

From then on, he and I had many conversations about palliative medicine, hospice care and how long he could continue as a pastor in the Catholic parish he served. He was a planner and an organizer, so before long several parishioners had stepped up to assist him in his final days. The people he had helped now reversed roles and reached out in love and compassion to their pastor....

.................................................................................

...At a Jesuit Superiors Colloquium at Santa Clara two weeks ago, a nurse who works extensively in Jesuit health care in New England suggested five benchmarks for when a man needed to move to one of our province-assisted care facilities, which in our case is located in Spokane. These signposts were: 1) lack of personal hygiene, 2) confusion over medications, 3) falling and instability, 4) increasing frailty, and 5) hoarding.

"Hoarding." Really? The nurse explained that hoarding could take any number of forms: stacking up endless magazines for reading someday, squirreling money away in books or other hidden locations, gobbling down a box of chocolates in one setting, and so forth. It can be a sign of insecurity, emptiness or even depression....

....................................................................................

...Fortunately, our Jesuits are bound together by shared beliefs and a profound grasp of the Jesuit mantra of "seeing God in all things," even in suffering and death. Together we offer emotional, physical and spiritual help. Together we assist, pray for and anoint with blessing a brother in his final moments.

These attitudes which helped my brother Jesuits accept their own mortality are, of course, not unique to us. Trusting in God doesn't eradicate fear of death, but it shifts our focus to the graces received throughout our lives and to the faces of people who have loved us — no matter what. It may help us bring resolution to unfinished business and forgiveness for past injuries. It allows us to live the moment more fully and to accept the vicissitudes of life with grace and humor, despite the seeming indignities that advancing age may bring...

Joan and I had a discussion the other evening that touched on the fact that we're both nearing retirement age... what will soon happen in our lives? How do we want to live out the time we have left? We've spent some time talking about this before in connection with end-of-life questions [in fact, we spent some time filling out a simple and VERY helpful little form that's put together by Aging With Dignity, called Five Wishes., and I highly recommend it]. But end-of-life questions are just part of the continuum of issues that we face when we get older, and a great many of them are also faith questions.