In 2021, Pope Fracis established World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, to be celebrated each year on the fourth Sunday of July. This year we commemorate the day on July 28. I certainly have very fond memories of growing up with my own grandparents in Rhode Island.

My grandmother, Mary, besides being one of the kindest people I have met in my life, was a great cook. Long before converting to a vegan diet and being an omnivorous eater, I indulged with delight in my Naunie’s meatballs and homemade pasta. What a treat!

My grandfather, John, Mary’s husband, was one of the most intelligent people that I have met.  He possessed an incredible ‘practical’ knowledge of many things. Pop could fix almost anything. I remember spending hours in his workshop located in the basement of his house making things out of wood, fixing things with him, and watching him create inventions. I loved spending time with him. It was a joy to spend time with both.

My grandparents were big contributors to the person I am today. I can’t imagine my life without them involved in my personal story. So, I am a tremendous fan of grandparents.  
Unfortunately, this type of fondness and respect for grandparents and the elderly is not universal. “Do not cast me off in my old age” (cf. Ps. 71:9) is the theme chosen by Pope Francis for 2024. The reminders of Pope Francis in his address that in many places throughout the world the elderly are abandoned or deemed a burden are extremely sad. In one paragraph of the address, Pope Francis states,

“The Psalm cited above – with its plea not to be abandoned in old age – speaks to a conspiracy surrounding the life of the elderly. This may seem an exaggeration, but not if we consider that the loneliness and abandonment of the elderly is not by chance or inevitable, but the fruit of decisions – political, economic, social and personal decisions – that fail to acknowledge the infinite dignity of each person, “beyond every circumstance, state or situation the person may ever encounter” (Declaration Dignitas Infinita, 1).  This happens once we lose sight of the value of each individual and people are then judged in terms of their cost, which is in some cases considered too high to pay. Even worse, often the elderly themselves fall victim to this mindset; they are made to consider themselves a burden and to feel that they should be the first to step aside.”

 
When grandma and grandpa are considered a burden or never have visitors, this is all the “fruit of decisions,” decisions that others are making based on convenience, utility, pragmatism, or egoism. How sad!  
 
In keeping with this erroneous belief that the human person’s dignity is relative, then physician-assisted suicide, once legalized, becomes a legitimized way to potentially rid a society of some or many of its elderly. The law will actually justify this! In a January 22, 2015 Wall Street Journal article, “Dr. Death Makes a Comeback,” Dr. Paul McHugh, former psychiatrist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, stated, “…with physician-assisted suicide, many people – some not terminally ill, but instead demoralized, depressed and bewildered – die before their time.”  (See also, Ryan Anderson’s March 24, 2015, article “Always Care, Never Kill…” Published by The Heritage Foundation). The loneliness, isolation, and solitary existence lived by many elderly are all potential agents of a “demoralized, depressed, and bewildered” existence. When a society says that life is justifiably disposable, then all lives are vulnerable, not just the elderly.

The genius of Christianity is that Jesus, by becoming human and redeeming humanity, teaches us that all human life has value and matters. All human beings have an inviolable value from the moment of conception that is not diminished by age, productivity, education, race, economics, or creed. What a bold statement about the dignity of the person. Christianity is refreshingly bold, embodying a boldness that goes beyond politics or public opinion. It’s beautiful! The human person is beautiful! The elderly are beautiful!
Thank you, grandparents and elderly! Perhaps, in honor of this special day, we can be intentional and let our grandparents and the elderly in our lives know that we are grateful for them.