Monday 13th June 2022
3rd Sunday in June ‘Day of Life’ for contemplating a culture that cherishes life at all stages
Louise Morse
The third Sunday in June is a special Day for Celebrating Life, Pope John Paul II has decreed, “for recognising the meaning and value of human life at every stage and in every condition.” This year, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales is inviting people to focus on the value of older people.
People living longer than ever before, but where longevity was once considered a blessing, it has become undesirable in our ‘thow-away’ culture, and older people are now sometimes seen as a burden. Youth and productivity are valued above all. The Day of Life is for Christians to consider ways of pushing back against this attitude and creating a culture that cherishes life at all stages, especially at its most vulnerable, at the start or at the end of life.
The Scriptures tell us that a long life is a blessing from God. He promised King Solomon, “If you walk in my ways, I will prolong your life,” (1 Kings 3:14). And, “you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age” He told Abraham after he had left Ur of the Chaldees.
“Every day we see numerous attacks upon the gift of a long life,” writes Colette McGovern[i] in the Tablet. “From the treatment of the elderly during the pandemic and the disproportionate effect Covid had on them, to the health and social care crisis, the time bomb of dementia, the threat of assisted suicide legislation, the breakdown of extended families, weakening of familial support and increased isolation.”
The culture in the Old and New Testaments is a balanced one where the strength of the young is recognised and encouraged and the wisdom and experience of the older appreciated. The Pope describes a balanced society as being like a tree, where older people are the roots, ‘in these roots are wisdom, maturity, memory, history, and experience.’
‘The young are flowers or fruits on these trees, and they need to be connected to their roots if they are to flourish and grow. When younger people are cut off from their roots, society is cut off from its roots.’ It then becomes sterile, and its future is threatened.
‘Older people should be recognised as ‘active and indispensable protagonists in our collective story and society, not merely passive recipients of our care or burdens/objects to be hidden or discarded.’
The Bishops of England and Wales are inviting people to think again about the value and contribution older persons can make, and to make practical choices to build bridges between the generations.
The biggest challenge to our thinking on the Day of Life, (or indeed every other day) is that most of us have internalized negative beliefs about ageing that we have absorbed unconsciously from childhood, whereas many studies have shown that exposing people to positive descriptions of ageing can improve their memory, gait, balance, and the will to live. Professor Becca Levy of Yale University, a leading expert on ageing, has published studies showing how the effects of these beliefs have a profound impact on older people’s lives, causing ill health and earlier deaths.
Evidence from more than 400 scientific studies shows the impact of individuals’ beliefs. When ageing is seen in a negative light, (characterised by terms such as ‘decrepit, incompetent, dependent, a burden’) people experience more stress in later life, live less healthy lives and hasten their deaths by an average of seven years. When views are positive (with words such as wise, alert, accomplished, and creative), people are more likely to be active and resilient and have a stronger will to live.
The challenge is whether people can change these unrecognised assumptions about growing older and can adjust them in the light of the evidence. In the introduction to her new book, ‘Breaking the Age Code: How Your Beliefs about Aging Determine How Long and Well You Live,’ Professor Levy insists that with the right mindset and tools, we can change our age beliefs.’
Challenging ageist beliefs is the theme of Louise Morse’s book, ‘What’s Age Got To Do with It?’
