The sense of community

The Focolare spirituality of unity has many facets that reflect on family life.
A couple in their golden years shares how they continue to love and serve others.

During the more than 30 years that we have lived in Houston we have served the local church in many capacities, such as members of various committees related to family life, as a sponsor couple for marriage preparation and as lectors and Eucharistic ministers. Now in our eighties, we cannot continue with these commitments, but we realized that we can still love and serve Jesus in many people by bringing the Eucharist to the homebound.

When we visit them, their suffering becomes our suffering, and over time a close relationship develops. Sometimes they have adult children and grandchildren that live in distant parts of the country. This is a hardship in the golden age. They welcome listening ears to their issues. We occasionally can assist with other errands, such as driving to medical appointments. When our homebound friends are hospitalized, we visit them.

Often, when their family members are living nearby, we develop friendships with them, too. In one instance where we brought the Eucharist to a lady for nearly eight years, when she died at age 106 the family asked only us to speak at her funeral Mass. We were honored and deeply moved with this one last visit with our dear friend.

And we lend our service not only to the elderly. Recently we brought the Eucharist to an expectant mother who was required to be on bed rest.

The sense of community that we have experienced in living the spirituality of unity extends to everyone and has led us to this deeper understanding of the Church as one body. We are not yet too old or too infirm to love and serve Jesus in others.

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