Those among us who are not able to care for themselves anymore need our love

Those among us who are not able to care for themselves anymore.

To compute how many in our community are elderly, bed-confined, or waiting to meet the Lord as they take their last breath would be a monumental challenge.  The easiest way to look at those that are close to us is to take a personal view one at a time.  There is no doubt that if we live long enough the numbers will either increase or we can reflect on the family members we have already cared for.  

The one drw-back of living many years will be the loss of siblings and sometimes children who have been called by God before us.  A sad element to that is the probability of burying your children before they have an opportunity to reach their goals in life.  

My wife and I were connected to Compassionate Friends in Mt. Lebanon, PA when Paul passed away at age 46.  The organization was a great help in assisting us in our loss.  As I write this, Joan’s sister just entered Hospice.  Of course she is 92 and we all know each of us will encounter the same reality of dying.  Death becomes a tragedy for some people, usually depending on the age or circumstances involved.  

It is the palliative care that hospice shares with the dying and the ability that we who are still mobile enough to extend our love for them as well.  However, our prime Christian responsibility is the type of relationship we are able to extend to the elderly, bed-confined friends and relatives, and those who have yet to reach their last days. 

Jesus, in his Judgment of the Nations teaching, says it all.  “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him.  And he will separate them one from another , as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”(Mt 25: 31 -46).  We all know the final conclusion of this story and it should be a reminder of our own requirement towards those he mentions.  

In response to the question about the first commandments, Jesus says, The first is, “Hear O Israel:  The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”  The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  There is no other commandment greater than these.  (CCC 2196).

A neighbor begins with your spouse, your children, and your other family members.  If there are any questions regarding how much and how often we are expected to care for any one of them, remind ourselves that God sent his Son as a man while still remaining his divine Son to care for all his neighbors;  Humanity!  We must do the same!

Ralph B. Hathaway