Grow in the Spirit

Grow in the spirit with joy, as Psalm 91 describes beautifully: “The just will flourish like the palm tree, he will grow like the cedar of Lebanon. He will flourish in the atriums of our God; he will still be fruitful in old age, in days full of sap and vigor.” It is a resplendent horizon for any elderly believer.

In the measure that biological forces inexorably decline, the elderly should be committed to consistency and to be vigorous in the spirit and in faith. In other words: spiritual progress ought to be inversely proportional to the physiological deterioration. “Although our exterior breaks down, our interior self renews itself day after day” (2 Cor 4:16).

Joy is not the exclusive property of the young. Enjoyment of good things is not the specific task of the initial years of life. There are riches for every age. No matter how much we already have, there are still other treasures to be found, new worlds to discover in culture, art, in gardening, and in the home. And there is never a lack of joy and inner peace, fruits of the spirit.

Extracted from the book “The forces of Decadence” by Father Ignacio Larrañaga