“Old age is in a good position to grasp the deception of this normalization of a life obsessed with enjoyment and empty of interiority,” the Pontiff stressed.
Vatican City (16/03/2022 15:29, Gaudium Press) At the General Audience on Wednesday, March 16, Pope Francis continued his cycle of teachings on old age, following the theme “Old age, a resource for carefree youth.”
God’s repentance
Commenting on chapter 6 of the book of Genesis, which deals with the old man Noah, chosen to save man from corruption and the flood, the Pope underlined the expression in Scripture that God “repented” of having created man.
It can happen to us, in times of oppression, to think that it would have been better if we had not been born. “Indeed, we are under pressure, exposed to opposing stresses that confuse us. On the one hand, we have the optimism of an eternal youth, kindled by the extraordinary progress of technology, that depicts a future full of machines that are more efficient and more intelligent than us, that will cure our ills and devise for us the best solutions so as not to die: the world of robots.”
God entrusts his work to Noah’s faithfulness
“On the other hand, our imagination appears increasingly concentrated on the representation of a final catastrophe that will extinguish us. What happens with an eventual nuclear war. The ‘day after’ this – if there will still be days and human beings – will have to start again from scratch,” he explained.
In a situation of distress for humanity, God entrusts his work to the faithfulness of the oldest of all, the righteous Noah.
The Pope said that precisely when men devote themselves to enjoying life and lose the sense of corruption, they live without concern in the midst of corruption. “Old age is in a good position to grasp the deception of this normalization of a life obsessed with enjoyment and empty of interiority: life without thought, without sacrifice, without beauty, without truth, without justice, without love: this is all corruption. The special sensibility of us old people, of old age for the attention, thoughts and affections that make us human, should once again become the vocation of many. And it will be a choice of the love of the elderly towards the new generations. “, he stressed.
The path of corruption leads nowhere
Noah, Francis said, does not preach, he does not recriminate, “he takes care of the future of the generation that is in danger. He builds the ark of acceptance and lets people and animals enter it. In his care for life, in all its forms.”
In this way, he repeats God’s tender and generous gesture in creation, which is precisely the thought that inspires God’s commandment: a blessing, a new creation.
Finally, the Holy Father encouraged the elderly, who have the prospect of wisdom, to advise others: “‘Look, this path of corruption leads nowhere.’ The world needs strong young people, who move forward, and wise elders,” he concluded. (EPC)
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
