When I was in leadership of my religious congregation we made the difficult decision that we could no longer care adequately for one of our elders at our own facility. He needed skilled nursing that we couldn’t provide. The decision was doubly difficult because he was a revered figure in the congregation who had held several important roles. As I took him to his room in the new facility he remarked “Sixty years in religious life and I’m reduced to a 14 by 14 room.” As poignant as that comment was it reflected a foundation truth of life. If we live long enough we diminish — physically, mentally, socially. This is not a bad thing. As John the Baptist remarks about Jesus: “He must increase; I must decrease.” Our diminishment can play a vital role in our spiritual life. We have to accept that our gifts, our talents, our will are not what matter most. It is what God does with us that matters. When our “I” decreases it gives more room for God to shape what we do. In that nursing home. for example, another of our priests who had lost the ability to speak clearly because of Parkinsons disease was well beloved because he would sit in prayerful vigil with those who are dying. His voice was diminished but his eloquent silence had an increased impact.
