Welcome to episode one of the Saint Sebastian Parish Podcast. Well, we're in a new year, and it's a time to rededicate ourselves to growing in faith. One way you can do that is to join us for Eucharistic Adoration. It takes place in our Chapel Of The Divine Healer on Fridays after morning mass until 5PM. We still need a Doors of the Holy Eucharist for the following times, one to 2PM, two-three pm, and three-four pm.

Please contact the office if you are able to come to any of those times. Also, there will be a Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit February. Check the bulletin for more details. The Saint Sebastian Council of Catholic Women is currently collecting items for our annual trinkets and rummage sale. If you have any items to donate, contact Sandy at (954) 235-4005.

Alright. Every year at this time, the Archbishop's Charities and Development Drive kicks off. The annual Archdiocese Fundraiser funds faith formation programs, Catholic Charities operations, evangelization efforts, supports the training of seminarians, priests, deacons, and religious. It also helps fund assistance to the poor, elderly, and underserved communities. You can find a link to support this year's fundraising effort on our website.

Okay. So we're already in February, and it's just been a month since another year started. Time really does fly, and it seems to go by faster and faster as we get older. Now, getting older is not something we like to do. And one of the reasons is our youth obsessed culture.

Society tends to treat old age like some kind of illness you catch and then quarantine. Stick the elderly in homes, keep them out of sight, because dealing with wrinkles and slower steps makes people uncomfortable. It's that throwaway mindset. If you're not producing or looking young, you're somehow less valuable, less part of the picture. But the bible flips that script completely.

Psalm 92 says, even in old age, people will still bear fruit. Like a tree that's been around forever, but keeps putting out good things. That's not just poetic, it's a promise. Long life isn't a curse or a burden, it's a blessing straight from god. A house with an older person in it, That's a blessed place.

A family that honors their grandparents? That's living the way things are meant to be. Nobody really prepares you for getting older. There's no class, no manual. One day you're in the thick of raising kids, working hard, keeping up with everything, and the next, the kids move out.

And when retirement hits, you wonder where did the time go? This stage of life also brings other challenges. Maybe health stuff creeps in. Many people look in the mirror, see the lines, and think they've lost their purpose. It can feel lonely.

Like the psalmist crying out, don't cast me off when my strength is gone. Yet the same Psalm keeps reminding us, God has been with us every step, from the beginning, and he's still here. Old age isn't just decline. It's a gift of more time, more days filled by him. We don't have to hide the gray hair or pretend we're forever 30.

Instead, we can lean into it. Stay active, sure. Take care of the body. But even more, take care of the soul. Keep reading scripture, praying every day, going to mass, receiving the sacraments.

And don't stop reaching out to your kids and grandkids, check-in on the poor, pray for people who are hurting. This stage of life isn't about lowering the sales and drifting. It's a new mission. People who are entering retirement have a lifetime of experience that comes with years. Younger folks need that now more than ever.

As we get older and slow down, it gives us an opportunity to pray more. We can become prayer warriors in a new way. We also have more time to visit someone who's alone or in the hospital. Just showing up for people is putting your Catholic faith in action. Just showing up.

That's mercy right there. And it changes everything. So, old age isn't the end of the road. It's a season to keep bearing fruit, to keep loving, to keep pointing to God.