Getting Younger Each Day

On the spirituality page of the Catholic Times the columnist writes about the heart of a young person. A quality that most of us find very attractive especially as we get old. 

The columnist met a follow priest at the cathedral parish who was there to get some Mass wine. They hadn't seen each other for some time so they went to a coffee shop for quiet time. His friend mentioned they started a catechism class in the  parish and one of the new catechumens was an unique individual.

What do you mean by unique? asked the columnist.  His friend mentioned the man was in his 50s and a person who was successful in life. The reason he gave for wanting to come into the Church was the example of the pope in his visit to Korea. The man followed very closely what the pope was doing on TV, and was greatly impressed with what he saw.

The appearance of the pope was that of a young person, said the man. He wanted to have that same kind of heart and joined our catechism class. Hearing his story the friend was embarrassed in comparison, for he was doing it all without any religious belief.

Although he was the president of a company that was successful he did his own driving, and his clothes were very simple as was his life style. From the profits of the company he was putting some of it back into the society to help the poor, and was personally involved in helping others. The only person that knows about his service to others was his fiance

The columnist was surprised to hear that he was in his fifties and not married. His friend was not able to give him any information on his home life for he hadn't questioned him yet, but his whole manner was one of humility and simplicity, said the friend.

Persons young of heart may not be a quality that is easily recognizable but it has an irresistible power to attract. We are all searching for peace, security, happiness, and in the whirlpool in which we live these qualities of life are not easily possessed. The man in his fifties was attracted to an old man, the pope, who showed the spirit of youth. This was his  motive for entering the Church. This is a rare motive but one that should be more common. St. Paul did tells us that the body grows old but there is no reason why the heart (spirit) has to grow old. In Jesus, we will find that the dreams and youthfulness that should be a part of our life even as we near death, can be found in him.