Pope says golden years can be spiritually fruitful

Although he walks quickly and appears to have no serious medical problems, the 83-year-old Pope Benedict XVI said he knows what it's like to get old and experience increasing the physical frailty. Greeting a small gathering of his peers and elders in London Sept. 18, the pope said, "Our long years of life afford us the opportunity to appreciate both the beauty of the God's greatest gift to us -- the gift of life -- as well as the fragility of the human spirit." In the midst of a four-day visit filled with the pomp of papal liturgies and the formality of meeting royalty and government officials, Pope Benedict visited St. Peter's Residence, a home for the aged run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. "Those of us who live many years are given a marvelous chance to deepen our awareness of the mystery of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity," the pope told the 76 residents, who include nine priests and members of religious orders. "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," the pope said. Patricia Fasky, who lives at St. Peter's, welcomed the pope to the residence's small theater and told him, "we all love you and we pray for you."