On August 9, 2016, in Rome, Italy, four policemen were called to the home of Michele, a 94-year-old man, and Jole, his 89-year-old wife.
Tag: loneliness
Sharing God’s mercy this Christmas with grandparents
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| Sr. Constance Veit, LSP |
In the past few weeks I’ve been asked to speak about loneliness in the elderly on numerous occasions.
I was even quoted in a recent article by Catholic journalist Mary Rezac, entitled “Our Elders Are Lonely — Do We Care?” As we look forward to Christmas, let’s hope we can all say, “Of course we do!”
Remember the elderly in the autumn of their lives
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October 1 is International Day of Older Persons as declared by the United Nations.
It is appropriate to celebrate this day during the fall of the year in order to focus upon the elderly’s autumn blessings and needs. An elderly Italian couple reminded me of this recently.
Visiting the elderly
On August 9, 2016, in Rome, Italy, four policemen visited the home of Michele, a 94-year-old man and Jole, his 89-year-old wife.
After 70 years of marriage, they still loved each other, but they were suffering from the cross of loneliness, partially because their neighbors were vacationing and also because of upsetting TV reports about terrorists’ attacks and abused children.
Facing terminal illness realistically
In modern times, dying is more and more often portrayed as a cold, clinical reality to be kept at arm’s length, relegated to the closed doors of a hospital, almost hermetically sealed from the rest of our lives.
When it comes to the event itself, we diligently work to avoid confronting it, addressing it, or acknowledging it. Because of this cultural backdrop, patients receiving a diagnosis of a terminal illness can be tempted to indulge in unrealistic expectations about what lies ahead, clinging to unreasonable treatment options and hoping for highly improbable outcomes.