Pope Francis mentioned his difficulty walking during his General Audience while reflecting on a passage from the Gospel of Mark telling the healing of St. Peter's mother-in-law.
POPE FRANCIS
Life is precious, even as it fades away.
As old people we can't do the same things we did when we were young. The body has a different rhythm and we have to listen to the body and accept our limits. We all have them: even I have to use a cane now... It happens to everyone.
The Pope continued his series of catechesis on old age, highlighting the wisdom that come with the years, and once again spoke of “the throwaway culture” that excludes the elderly from society.
POPE FRANCIS
It doesn't kill them, but socially, it erases them as if they were a burden to carry. As if it is better to hide them. This is a betrayal of one's humanity. This is the ugliest thing: selecting life according to usefulness, according to youth, and not life as it is, with both the wisdom and limitations of the old. The elderly have so much to give us. They have The wisdom of life and so much to teach us. That's why we must teach children to seek out their grandparents. Dialogue between young people, children, and grandparents is fundamental, for society and the Church. It is fundamental for a healthy life. Where there is no dialogue between the young and the old, there is something missing, a generation grows up without a past, without roots.
Pope Francis also directed a message to the Ukrainian people at the end of the audience.
POPE FRANCIS
And please, let us not forget the martyred people of Ukraine, at war. Let us not get used to living as if war were a distant thing. Our remembrance, our affection, our prayer, and our help, always go to those who are suffering so much and who are experiencing a true martyrdom.
In recent days, the Pope expressed his concern over society “normalizing” the idea of war in Ukraine.
