(Rivista Internazionale - December 1994: We are as old as our hopes - 6/6)

In the sense that she has to live in a totally different way. No longer timid, closed, cautious and benumbed, but open and courageous, risking and giving herself to others. So the useless and timid old lady is transformed into an enterprising and daring widow. She discovers a new dimension in life: the joy of giving oneself, of alleviating the pain of others, of forgetting oneself to take on another's suffering; in addition, she understands the impossibility of saving oneself by oneself, the desolation of fear, the universal misery of mankind. She is especially surprised by one truth: the presence of God along our road, in ambush to present us with His grace and save us. In the commitment of loving and remembering that our goal is the kingdom of heaven, Carolina is overwhelmed with a «scandalous joy»: the joy of a transfigured life.
We could suspect that these irruptions in fiction about the possibility of making the «useless age» the age of transparency and transfiguration involve the specious imagination of writers.
The example of a great and unjustly forgotten man of letters, Giovanni Papini, demonstrates among other things - that this is not so. Not long before he died (8 July 1956), aged 75, he dictated some Schegge (Bits and Pieces) which are among the best of his work.
In one he describes the «pitiful state» to which illness had reduced him:
«I've lost the use of my legs, arms and hands and l'm almost blind and almost speechless».
Then he enumerates the things that he still has: faith, intelligence, memory, fantasy, the passion for meditating, the affection of his family, the possibility of communicating, «albeit with torturing slowness», his thoughts and feelings, the will to love and be loved, intellectual curiosity, an argumentative spirit «When it involves defending the supreme values». And he concludes with a surprising remark: «Although it might seem laughable delirium I have the temerity to affirm that I still feel supported, in the immense sea of life, by the high tide of youth» (18).
The secret of this «scandalous youthfulness»? The same writer reveals it in another piece. Referring to a saying of the mystical poet Angelus Silesius «Even if Christ were to have been born ten thousand times in Bethlehem, it will be no good to you if He is not born at least once in your heart» - Papini confesses that this miracle has been accomplished in him. The Saviour has been born in his heart. The piece concludes thus: «You are no longer alone, you will never be alone again. The darkness of your night will flame as if a thousand stars were to blaze from all the sky to celebrate the meeting of your short human day with divine eternity»" (19).
We believe that Papini's piece can be translated as: We are as old as our hopes.

Concluding reflections
To conclude this fleeting immersion in literature, permit us to make three considerations.
The first regards us all, because we are all proceeding towards old age (if we haven't yet landed up there). For a rousing defeat of the dullness of our sunset years, we have to bring heart and soul to it, seeking new horizons, new prospects and new commitments. Growing old is an art, to be learnt with difficulty and patience. This art achieves its fullness and splendour when it acquires the theological virtues faith, hope and charity which illuminate and transfigure an apparently desolate state of life.
Without it there are certainly values and berths capable of giving serenity and brightening up sunsets, such as love, interests and inner peace. But if the skies are empty, desperation is waiting for us around the corner.
The second consideration concerns society. It is our duty to offer spaces which enable them still to feel active and useful
Marginalising them is a crime of which quite a few societies are guilty of today. «When a society,» John Paul II, has said, «lets itself be guided solely by consumerism and efficiency, dividing people into active and inactive, and considering the latter as second-class citizens, abandoning them to their solitude, it cannot be called truly civil. When a family does not want its own blood relations, the young and the old, at home, and neglects both of them [...], it certainly does not deserve to be called a community of love» (20).
The last consideration involves a certain contemporary culture, founded on materialism, nihilism, hedonism and the exaltation of efficiency. Old people condemned to live in this atmosphere inevitably become intruders and parasites. We are all invited to assume our responsibilities to ensure that this monstrosity does not occur (21).

Ferdinando Castelli S.I.

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(18) G. Papini, Schegge, Vallecchi, Florence 1971, 252-253. (19) ivi, 321.
(20) "Discourse to the National Federation of Trade and Tourism" (29 April 1982), in Civ. Catt. 1982, IV 67.
(21) We were happy to hear of the recent foundation of the "The Ninety-Year-Old Club", that is of the "class of the oldest old people which once consisted of some rare examples and now has a democratic consistency no longer able to be ignored". They are 180,000 over 90s and many of them live in a state of neglect and solitude. The founder of the club is ninety-year-old Senator Giuseppe Brusasca. The main aim of the foundation is the defence of the human dignity of the oldest of the old with the intention of offering them a serene end to their human existence.

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