One of the interesting visually and in the text itself as to the past visit by Pope Benedict to the UK was his trip to a nursing home. It did not get the headlines as other parts of the visit but I am still struck by it. The text of that talk he gave to the residents is here. He said in part :
In this sense, I come among you not only as a father, but also as a brother who knows well the joys and the struggles that come with age. Our long years of life afford us the opportunity to appreciate both the beauty of God’s greatest gift to us, the gift of life, as well as the fragility of the human spirit. Those of us who live many years are given a marvellous chance to deepen our awareness of the mystery of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity. As the normal span of our lives increases, our physical capacities are often diminished; and yet these times may well be among the most spiritually fruitful years of our lives. These years are an opportunity to remember in affectionate prayer all those whom we have cherished in this life, and to place all that we have personally been and done before the mercy and tenderness of God. This will surely be a great spiritual comfort and enable us to discover anew his love and goodness all the days of our life.
Pope Benedict today made a visit to the Sant’ Egidio Community's "Viva gli Anziani" rest home for the elderly in Rome. Vatican Insider has a nice story on it here as well as the Pope's remarks at Benedict XVI : "The elderly are the ones hardest hit by the crisis" . Vatican Radio has something up here.
A full English translation shall hopefully be up here soon. I will try to update when a English translation becomes available.
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