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The Little Sisters have published a beautifully illustrated book on the words and example of Blessed John Paul II in his final years. Entitled The Final Years, To the Very End: Pope John Paul II, the book is available from the Little Sisters' Publications Office, 601 Maiden Choice Lane, Baltimore, MD 21228. suggested donation: $5.00.
 From the book's forward:
Word and Witness: Blessed John Paul II’s theology of aging
Blessed John Paul II created an enormous corpus of writings during his long pontificate. His works include theological expressions that are now integral to the Church’s contemporary lexicon, including the “Gospel of Life,” the “theology of the body” and the “spirituality of communion.” Although less known than some of his other works, his 1999 Letter to the Elderly, together with several speeches to older persons, could be the basis for a “theology of aging” which promises to become increasingly relevant as the population of seniors in our midst grows.
The basics of what could be called John Paul II’s “theology of aging” were articulated in a general audience on September 7, 1994. After discussing the decline in health common to aging, he suggested that older persons use their sufferings to unite themselves to Christ’s suffering and cross. Then, the Holy Father proclaimed, “Old age is also a gift for which we are called to give thanks: a gift for the person on in years, for society and for the Church. Life is always a great gift.”
The Pope spoke of a special charism given to older persons, who may use their strengths and talents for their own joy and the good of others. He also evoked the concept of charisms when speaking to a group of Christian seniors gathered in Rome for an international meeting.1 “How important it is,” he said, “that people of your age offer a completely humane and Christian vision of life, show forth the wisdom of their experience, create the bond between different generations, bear witness to true affection, to the free gift of oneself, to serenity, to a quiet but radiant joy, to strength in time of trial, to the interior life, to hope in the afterlife, to what could be called ‘the charisms of the evening of life!”
Blessed John Paul II wrote eloquently about old age and several years after his death it is clear that he embodied a Christian “theology of aging” in his own life, to the very end. In his speeches he encouraged seniors to give themselves generously to others and in his own life he continued to travel and receive visitors even when he was no longer able to speak. Just as he encouraged older persons to unite their sufferings with greater love to the sacrifice of Christ, on his last Good Friday John Paul II clung to the cross with all the strength he could muster as he made the Stations of the Cross. And just as he had encouraged seniors to look toward heaven with hope, he admitted that he found great peace in thinking of when the Lord would call him, “from life to life.”2 His last recorded words – “Let me go to the house of the Father”3 – are themselves a striking witness.
With this modest book, it is our goal to honor the memory of Blessed John Paul II and to share his “theology of aging” – taught through both words and the witness – with older persons and those who minister to them. It is our ardent desire that these words and images will offer hope. We also pray that it will strengthen the conviction that old age really is a gift for which we are called to give thanks, because life is always a great gift!
Notes
1 John Paul II, Message to Vie Montante, October 4, 1982.
2 John Paul II, Letter to the Elderly, October 1, 1999.
3 Witness of Stanislaw Dziwisz, John Paul II’s longtime personal secretary, in Let Me Go to the Father’s House. Pauline Books and Media, 2006. p. 37.
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