Pope: Love makes us better, richer and wiser in all ages

Raimundo de Lima – Vatican News

“When you, grandparents, grandchildren, old and young, are together, when you see and hear each other often, when you care for each other, your love is a breath of fresh air, which renews the world and society and makes us all. Strong, beyond the ties of kinship”, said Francis, Saturday morning, April 27, in the Paul VI room at the Vatican, in a festive atmosphere, while receiving the audience in an event encouraged by grandparents, elderly and grandchildren. Età Grande” Foundation.

“The caress and the smile” gathering, attended by numerous characters from the world of entertainment, brought together representatives of both generations to promote the elderly and their role in today's world.

Grandparents, grandkids, young and old alike welcome you here. Today we see how good it is to be together, as the Psalm says (Psalm 133). Look at yourselves to realize this, because there is love between you, and love makes us better, richer and wiser in every age, the Pope emphasized, inviting those present to reflect on this.

Love makes us better

First: Love makes us better. You also demonstrate that you are mutually superior by loving each other. I tell you this as a “grandfather” with a desire to share the youthful hope that connects all generations. Also from my grandmother, I first learned about Jesus, who loves us, never leaves us alone and encourages us to be close to each other without excluding anyone. It was with her that I heard the story of the family where there was a grandfather who was sent to eat alone because he had eaten too well and soiled himself at the table. This was not a good thing, in fact it was very bad! So the grandson spent a few days tinkering with the hammer and nails, and when his father asked him what he was doing, he replied: “I will build you a table, and when you are old you can eat alone! My grandmother taught me that and I never forgot it.

Don't forget this too, he noted that only by being together with love can you become a better person and a better person.

Love makes us rich

Not only that, you will also become rich. Our community is full of multi-disciplinary, knowledgeable and useful resources for everyone. However, if there is no sharing, if everyone thinks only of themselves, all wealth will be lost and, in fact, will become the poverty of mankind. This is the great danger of our time: the poverty of fragmentation and selfishness. For example, let's think about some of the expressions we use: “the world of the young”, “the world of the old”, “the world of this and that” when we talk about… But there is only one. The world! And it is made up of many facts. . And this is what your being together teaches us: don't let diversity create cracks within us! Do not grind to powder the most beautiful treasure God has given us, the diamond of love.

Sometimes “Think about yourself!”, “No one needs!” We hear phrases like The Holy Father went on to say that these are false phrases that deceive people into believing that it is better not to depend on others, to do for oneself, to live like islands, attitudes that only create isolation.

Love makes us wise

This brings us to the last aspect: the love that makes us wise. Dear grandchildren, your grandparents are the memory of a world without memory, and “when a society loses its memory, it is finished”. Listen to them, especially when they teach you, and through their love and testimony, develop the most important affections, which are not acquired by force, do not appear by victory, but fill life.

Finally, before saying goodbye, the Holy Father gave them a strong exhortation. Look for your grandparents, don't marginalize them, for your own good: “The marginalization of the elderly (…) spoils not only old age but all seasons of life”. On the other hand, you learn the wisdom of his strong love and his weakness, a “magisterium” capable of teaching without words, a true antidote against hardening of the heart: it will help you. To enjoy life as a relationship.