Abstract / DOI
A Little Theology of Old Age. The article brings a theological reflection on old age. The first part discusses some of the characteristics of old age in today’s society, such as the different perception of time (the past outweighs the future) which often causes «cultural alienation» ( J. Améry) in the elderly, but also the aspiration, under the pressure of today’s society, to stay young forever. With some elderly people the fear of death often causes distrust and suspicion of everything, as well as avarice, shamelessness, and resignation. The second part of the article presents some aspects of Christian «ars senescendi». In Christian faith old age is tranformed into a time of hope and future. Furthermore, the loss of physical strength is an opportunity to discover the importance of the spiritual in a person, especially conversation and socializing, «convivium» (Cicero). Christian faith does not relieve one of age-related disabilities, but offers a different view of old age, insofar as old age becomes the age of intense living of faith. In the end, the theology of old age is not only for the elderly, but for all Christians, insofar as all Christians, both young and old, should become the elderly of spirit and faith, to live spiritually all those characteristics that belong to Christian «ars senescendi».