Senior Moments: The Spiritual Side of Getting Older

Another good article in U.S. Catholic is "Senior Moments: The Spiritual Side of Getting Older." I'm just entering middle age, but I admit, I'm scared of getting older. I'm scared of what God might have in store for me both in terms of physical and mental decline. Fr. William Scanlon echoes that sentiment in this article: "God is the worst thief you will ever meet. He not only takes your money, he takes your eyes, your breath. The question is, 'How do we cooperate with that?' A nun once told him that the long process of decline 'is the only way God can get us to experience raw trust, like Jesus did on the cross.'"

Yet, age doesn't have to mean stagnation. It can mean a deepening of a spiritual life that has grown throughout the years. "You are forced to be a pray-er as you grow older," says Sister Suzanne Zuercher. "The alternative is increased anxiety and worries about ill health and death approach. As friends die and one's health declines, she says that the Christian concept of eternity becomes more concrete to older people."

I know I can't stop the aging process, but each day is an opportunity to trust that God knows what He is doing and that it will all work out well in the end.