Why the Bible Says Old Age Is a Blessing, Not a Burden
This episode offers a warm, reflective look at old age through a Catholic lens, challenging the world's tendency to view aging as decline or something to be hidden away. Drawing from Scripture—especially the promise in Psalm 92 that the elderly "will still bear fruit"—it presents growing older as a genuine blessing, a season rich with purpose, tenderness, and new mission. The message encourages grandparents and seniors to embrace prayer, active love for family and the vulnerable, and a quiet revolution of gentleness that counters loneliness, division, and indifference in today's world.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Saint John the Baptist Catholic Parish podcast from Fort Lauderdale. Be sure to spread the word about our podcast and follow us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. That way, you'll be notified every time we release a new episode.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to our parish podcast. You know, Ash Wednesday is just around the corner, and it's time to start thinking about Lent. We'll have our Ash Wednesday mass schedule posted soon in our bulletin and on the Saint John the Baptist website, so be on the lookout. Now as we approach Ash Wednesday and the kickoff to Lent, it's a good time to ask ourselves, what is Lent, and why does it matter? Well, you can learn a lot about Lent in a new video series from the Augustan Institute that equips Catholics to truly live the season of Lent through its three essential pillars, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
You can watch short, inspiring episodes on Formed that offer simple, meaningful ways to prepare your heart this Lent. Go to our website, stjohncc.org, scroll down on the homepage, and look for the formed graphic. Click on Continue to Sign UpLogin. When you see join your parish, type in 33308 and select St. John the Baptist.
Alright. Every year at this time, the Archbishop's Charities and Development Drive kicks off. The annual archdiocese fundraiser funds faith formation programs, Catholic charities operations, evangelization efforts, supports the training of seminarians, priests, deacons, and religious. It also helps fund assistance to the poor, elderly, and underserved communities. You can find a link to support this year's fundraising effort on our website.
Okay. So we're already in February, and it's just been a month since another year started. Time really does fly, and it seems to go by faster and faster as we get older. Now, getting older is not something we like to do. And one of the reasons is our youth obsessed culture.
Society tends to treat old age like some kind of illness you catch and then quarantine. Stick the elderly in homes. Keep them out of sight because dealing with wrinkles and slower steps makes people uncomfortable. It's that throwaway mindset. If you're not producing or looking young, you're somehow less valuable, less part of the picture.
But the Bible flips that script completely. Psalm 92 says, even in old age, people will still bear fruit. Like a tree that's been around forever, but keeps putting out good things. That's not just poetic. It's a promise.
Long life isn't a curse or a burden. It's a blessing straight from god. A house with an older person in it, that's a blessed place. A family that honors their grandparents, that's living the way things are meant to be. Nobody really prepares you for getting older.
There's no class, no manual. One day, you're in the thick of raising kids, working hard, keeping up with everything. And the next, the kids move out. And when retirement hits, you wonder where did the time go? This stage of life also brings other challenges.
Maybe health stuff creeps in. Many people look in the mirror, see the lines, and think they've lost their purpose. It can feel lonely, like the Psalmist crying out, don't cast me off when my strength is gone. Yet the same Psalm keeps reminding us, God has been with us every step, from the beginning, and he's still here. Old age isn't just decline.
It's a gift of more time, more days filled by him. We don't have to hide the gray hair or pretend we're forever 30. Instead, we can lean into it. Stay active. Sure.
Take care of the body. But even more, take care of the soul. Keep reading scripture, praying every day, going to mass, receiving the sacraments. And don't stop reaching out to your kids and grandkids. Check-in on the poor.
Pray for people who are hurting. This stage of life isn't about lowering the sales and drifting. It's a new mission. People who are entering retirement have a lifetime of experience that comes with years. Younger folks need that now more than ever.
As we get older and slow down, it gives us an opportunity to pray more. We can become prayer warriors in a new way. We also have more time to visit someone who's alone or in the hospital. Just showing up for people is putting your Catholic faith in action. Just showing up, that's mercy right there, and it changes everything.
So old age isn't the end of the road. It's a season to keep bearing fruit, to keep loving, to keep pointing to God.
Speaker 0: Thanks for listening to the Saint John the Baptist Catholic Parish podcast from Fort Lauderdale. Be sure to follow our show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, And that way, you'll be notified every time we release a new episode. This has been a production of The Parish Podcast Project.