{"id":918,"date":"2015-06-21T19:57:20","date_gmt":"2015-06-21T19:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sjcmetheology.wpengine.com\/?p=918"},"modified":"2015-06-21T19:57:20","modified_gmt":"2015-06-21T19:57:20","slug":"the-elderly-and-laudato-si","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/the-elderly-and-laudato-si\/","title":{"rendered":"The Elderly and Laudato Si"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his encyclical released this past week, Laudato Si<\/em>, Pope Francis calls for \u201cjustice between generations,\u201d by which he means frank, honest discussion and action about \u201cthe kind of world we are leaving to future generations.\u201d This discussion requires a \u201cstruggle with \u2026 deeper issues,\u201d and the pope raises the issue of how consumer lifestyles are reflected in environmental degradation. He also asks, even more importantly, now this lifestyle affects the moral character of society.<\/p>\n

The pope\u2019s words imply an important role for the elderly in wealthy societies. The elderly of today\u2019s industrialized societies have lived in a period of astounding economic growth, and many of them have accumulated substantial wealth. The industries they have built have both increased pollution and have developed powerful means to clean up that pollution. Reflecting upon their lives and historical era, the elderly today must have something to say about the issues raised in Laudato Si<\/em> and confronting every society in the world today.<\/p>\n

For example, what are the most important values? Presuming that financial security is an<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/a>

St. Jeanne Jugan, Foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor and a patron saint of the elderly<\/p><\/div>\n

important, but not the most important value, how does a family acquire and manage whatever wealth it has, in order to live both comfortably and generously down the generations of a family line? How do its members enjoy the fruits of God\u2019s providence without becoming blind to the material and spiritual poverty of those in their own society and in other parts of the world? How do they place the needs of the poor before their own desires?<\/p>\n

In order to begin reflecting upon their lives, the elderly in industrialized societies today might look at Pope Saint John Paul II\u2019s \u201cLetter to the Elderly\u201d<\/a> (1999). It is a difficult read in places, so I will point out some of the highlights.<\/p>\n

In this letter, John Paul II looked back over his life in order to discern its meaning and place his life\u2019s meaning in relation to God. In the second paragraph of the letter John Paul II writes \u201cin my memory I recall the stages of my life, which is bound up with the history of much of this [the 20th<\/sup>] century, and I see before me the faces of countless people, some particularly dear to me: they remind me of ordinary and extraordinary events, and happy times and of situations touched by suffering\u201d (1). The words \u201cbound up with a history of much of this century\u201d are all the more striking when one considers the pope\u2019s role in world events such as the collapse of communism and in the Church\u2019s response to modern secular culture. At the same time, the pope\u2019s words reflect an investment of the heart in those whom he has touched and the vulnerability to the loss of friends and loneliness. Finally, this recollection becomes an occasion to recognize that his life has been part of God\u2019s plan and to thank God for all his gifts.<\/p>\n

The pope points out the advantages of age. Writing in a conversational tone to his fellow elderly people, he notes that their \u201cretrospective gaze makes possible a more serene and objective evaluation<\/em> of persons and situations we have met along the way. The passage of time helps us to see our experiences in a clearer light<\/em> and softens their painful side<\/em> \u201d (2, emphasis added) For this reason the elderly are \u201cguardians of shared memory\u201d and \u201cthe privileged interpreters of that body of ideals and common values which support and guide life in society\u201d (10).<\/p>\n

The pope also offers moral and theological principles necessary for grasping the meanings of one\u2019s life and of the history of one\u2019s own time in relation to God\u2019s love and God\u2019s plan. For example, in reviewing one\u2019s life and the history of one\u2019s own time, it is important to look for how God and man bring good from evil: \u201cLike so many other times in history, our own has registered lights and shadows. Not all has been bleak. Many positive aspects have counterbalanced the negative, or have emerged from the negative has a beneficial reaction on the part of the collective consciousness\u201d (3).<\/p>\n

The pope acknowledges the hard lessons of the past. For example, he reminds us that \u201cit would be both unjust and dangerous to forget\u2026 that unprecedented sufferings have affected the lives of millions and millions of people [as in World War II]\u201d (3). He values the \u201cblunt realism\u201d that comes with age, and is reflected in the biblical proverb \u201call is vanity\u201d (6; quoting Ecclesiastes<\/em> 1:2). For him, this blunt realism is part of scripture\u2019s overall \u201cpositive vision of the value of life\u201d and its history of great deeds performed by God working through human beings, including the elderly.<\/p>\n

Sixteen years after the \u201cLetter to the Elderly,\u201d Pope Francis asks the Church and the world for a dialogue about how to develop an integral ecology that lifts the poor from poverty without destroying the environment. The elderly in industrialized societies, which have both fostered economic growth and attempted to address the environmental problems it has causes, should make a contribution to this dialogue an important part of their legacy.<\/p>\n

Grattan Brown<\/strong> teaches Ministry to the Aging, Sick and Dying for Saint Joseph\u2019s College Online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In his encyclical released this past week, Laudato Si, Pope Francis calls for \u201cjustice between generations,\u201d by which he means frank, honest discussion and action about \u201cthe kind of world we are leaving to future generations.\u201d This discussion requires a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,22,24,1],"tags":[103,160],"class_list":["post-918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-moral-theology","category-social-justice","category-the-pope","category-uncategorized","tag-elderly","tag-laudato-si"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}