Das Erkennen des Sinnes des Leidens und die Vorbereitung auf den Übergang vom diesseits ins Jenseits

Abstract

The pastoral care of the elderly is one aspect of the missionary activity in which the priest is not allowed to have hesitations. His presence is eagerly awaited, his intervention that springs from love must be com- forting and hope giving. Together with the elderly, he must decipher the mystery of suffering, bring Christ into the soul of the lonely, develop from the awareness of the ephemerality a state of continual awaken- ing and expectation of the heavenly Groom. Reconciliation with one’s self, with people and with God, through confession and communion, strengthening the communion, increasing love and peace are part of man‘s spiritual preparation to experience a different kind of knowl- edge of the world and of himself, but especially of God. Even if the priest cannot always heal, he can, in any circumstance, take care of and envelop each of his fellows in the garment of love and forgiveness. In this context, we intended to draw attention to some particularities of the pastoral care of the elderly, an activity that always places us in the position of providing direct, uplifting, enlightening and reassur- ing answers to fundamental questions of the spiritual life. In the first part of this research paper, we shall formulate some gen- eral considerations regarding the pastoral care of the elderly, while in the second part we shall discuss two important aspects of their pasto- ral care: discovering the meaning of suffering and preparing for the eternal life, both as ways of responding to the emotional burden and of the spiritual turmoil of many elderly people. This emotional bur- den of old age and the spiritual uncertainties that the prospect of illness, suffering and end of the life generates often escapes the atten- tion and, implicitly, the pastoral care offered by the priest while also making the elderly difficult to understand by those close to him. On the other hand, the emotional support and peace of mind given by the discovery of the meaning of life and death, of liberating suffering and the hope of meeting God and communion with the righteous, are invaluable gifts that the priest can bring to the elderly.