Brazil: Sensitivity, love, patience for elderly cared for in body and soul
By Sr. Ruth Santana
The religious community of the Little Missionaries of Mary Immaculate, in Rio do Oeste, southern Brazil, provides daily care to over 100 elderly people, walking alongside them through life’s transitions and helping those who are still able to contribute to their living environment, thus giving them a sense of responsibility.
The current chaplain, who is the oldest priest in the diocese, acknowledges that for him, too, it is a journey of conversion, acceptance, and discovery.
Small deeds that make a difference
Sr. Denise Cristina has been a nurse and director of the mission with the elderly for over 30 years.
Despite all the administrative tasks and the work needed to keep the mission going, the religious sister does not stop visiting guests during the day, helping them eat and complete their care routines.
For her, developing an attentive attitude is essential. “The little things make a big difference in the life of the elderly. Many times, they can no longer talk, they are suffering, and they want a glass of water but cannot ask for it,” she said.
Basic actions like speaking, listening, seeing, and walking are at times compromised, and the guests are dependent on those who visit them. For Sister Denise, it is an opportunity to put the Gospel into practice.
Transformative love
Amid physical suffering and the basic needs of care and attention, Sr. Denise retains that love is the most important element when living with the elderly.
The sister highlighted that anyone “who has received love in life is calm and at peace in suffering.”
On the other hand, for those who have not felt loved in life and are full of rebellion when they arrive at the home, she emphasized the importance of “a gesture of welcome” and of understanding their suffering.
This changes with age, she explained. “Giving love where there is no love truly transforms.”
Spiritual assistance and care for the soul
The awareness that this stage of life is one of preparation for one’s meeting with God requires, beyond physical care, spiritual assistance. For the sisters, 93-year-old Father Belmiro’s presence at the home is a sign of divine Providence.
“With so many surrounding communities, the parish priest would not be able to provide the assistance we have at our disposal here,” affirmed Sr. Denise, referring to the priest who celebrates daily Mass and provides spiritual assistance to the other elderly residents, who makes himself available to hear confessions, give blessings, and administer the anointing of the sick, within his physical limits.
Learning meekness and humility
Fr. Belmiro became a resident at the home three years ago, at the bishop’s request.
Uncertain about what awaited him, he chose to go and was surprised by the sisters’ joy. “If I can give this joy to the sisters, to the elderly, then this is my mission,” he said.
Faced with the limits imposed by old age, he recognizes these years as a conversion process. “I have learned to be meeker.”
The priest believes one of the challenges of the aging process and the consequent reduction in physical abilities and autonomy is seeing how much work needs to be done but not always being able to do it.
The second big lesson for him is about growing in the “humility of letting others help us.”
An opportunity to do good
Like the priest, the other residents help out with tasks they are able to complete.
For example, 92-year-old Dona Lourdes helps with sewing, and she decorates various spaces with flowers from the garden, like the grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes outside the home.
“I feel good here, and it’s a great grace when I am able to do good for another person,” Ms. Lourdes affirmed. “If I can’t do anything materially, at least spiritually it is possible,” referring to the moments she stands beside those who are in need.
Words of wisdom for young people
In his Message for the Fifth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, Pope Leo XIV wrote, “If it is true that the weakness of the elderly needs the strength of the young, it is equally true that the inexperience of the young needs the witness of the elderly in order to build the future with wisdom.”
The life experience of the elderly becomes a classroom for those committed to listening to them.
Speaking about the groups of young people who visit the home, Sr. Denise affirmed. “They leave with a richness in their heart, knowing how to cherish that which is essential, that which will not pass.”
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