The more time I spend
around both the youth and the elderly the more heartbroken I become realizing
that many of these people feel they have no place in the Church. I have often
found that these two groups of people frequently feel alienated from the
Church. They have a mistaken notion that the Church is for the middle aged.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Pope John Paul II’s Post-Synodal Apostolic
exhortation beautifully shows that each person, no matter his age, is a part of
the body of Christ and can and must contribute to the health of the body.
The Holy Father is very clear that the youth are an important
part of the Church. He says that the young “ought to be encouraged to be active
on behalf of the Church as leading characters in evangelization and participants
in the renewal of society.[1]
Bishop Rice, the auxillary bishop of St. Louis summarizes point well in his
homily when he reminds those to be confirmed that the older generation do not
have the energy, vibrancy, and creativity they have so the Church needs them to
use their energy, vibrancy, and creativity for the good of the parish and
indeed the whole Church. I think the youth often underestimate the abilities
they have. I think it would be beneficial to find ways to get them involved in
the life of the parish and to hold up role models of young people in our world
today who are making global impacts.
The Holy Father also reminds the older generation that
they have a role to play in the Church. The older people can be a gift to the rest of
the Church by “being a witness to tradition in the faith both in the Church and
in society, the teacher of the lessons of life and the worker of charity.”[2] He
reminds those who are in good health and past the point of retirement that they
now have the privilege of dedicating their time to the apostolate of the
Church. Being retired and now having time on their hands they have the opportunity
to use their time to serve the Church. Most importantly however, even those who
are elderly and bedridden contribute to the Church and Her mission by their
prayers.
All people regardless of their age and status in life are
called to be active members of the Church. As a body, the Body of Christ, we,
as a Church, are only operating properly when all the members of the body are
participating. While the way we participate in the Church may change as we go through
life we are called to participate throughout our life.
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