CV NEWS FEED // An op-ed in the National Catholic Register recently highlighted the importance of visiting the elderly to alleviate their loneliness and show them love – an act the author says is a corporal work of mercy.
“Visiting the elderly often seems like something we all talk about doing but never quite get around to finding the time for it,” wrote Maryella Hierholzer in the NCR op-ed.
“When I was younger, I found it difficult to visit with people in a nursing home,” Hierholzer wrote. “It wasn’t until my mother passed away, when I looked to her two surviving sisters for solace, that I could see the value of spending time with the aged.”
In the Catholic Church, the Corporal Works of Mercy include visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving drink to the thirsty, among other physical actions of service and charity to those in need. The works of mercy are often associated with the famous words of Jesus telling His disciples that whatever they did to “the least of these,” they did to Him.
Hierholzer noted that visiting elderly relatives “is not always easy…. Their lack of memory or difficulty walking can make talking or moving with them less than desirable compared to a good time spent with much younger people,” she wrote:
It can be hard work involving a lot of praying to keep a conversation with seniors positive and on track while also walking slowly and carefully with them just from the curb to a local restaurant.
Nevertheless, the joy of time spent with such wisdom and in serving Christ in whom we perceive to be the least of us, more than makes up for the added effort.
With shortages of volunteers and staff in nursing homes and retirement homes, an increasing number of elderly people are suffering from loneliness, isolation, and other difficulties.
To combat this loneliness, the National Council on Aging (NCOA) has a comprehensive guide for seniors, friends, and family members that recommends ways to stay socially connected, especially through “accessible communication devices” and digital applications.
Hierholzer wrote in NCR, “Many of us are aware that all the elderly want is even just a phone call. And yet this short weekly task falls by the wayside.”
NCOA praised video and phone calls, as well as several additional resources that make calling an easier experience. “Captioning apps convert speech to text on videos, phone calls, or other inputs. Instead of listening to a phone call, you read what the other person says in real-time,” NCOA highlighted.
Those who experience loss of vision, mobility, or hearing are especially likely to suffer from isolation, NCOA reported. Improving technologies such as hearing aids, low-vision glasses, and speech-to-text applications can all help alleviate some of the difficulty posed by these losses.
NCOA recommended learning “sign language, lip reading, or using speech-to-text apps [to] also provide a firm foundation for communicating with hearing loss and reducing the anxiety often related to hearing loss.”
For those who suffer from loss of vision, NCOA recommended using “devices that build navigational confidence, like low-vision glasses, [which] may improve social engagement for people with vision loss. Screen readers (assistive technology that reads written words out loud) can also pave the way for online communication and socialization.”
Whether it is through digital communication or in-person visits, Hierholzer highlighted the importance of finding time to stay connected to older relatives.
Hierholzer wrote that now, she looks forward to visiting her late mother’s sister and sharing family-oriented joys and memories.
“Beyond learning from my aunt’s vast amount of knowledge shared with me, my visits are a chance to be genuinely loved by a relative,” Hierholzer wrote. “My 94-year-old aunt is thrilled to see me and give me a hug when I arrive. She loves me for who I am, mistakes and all.”
“All of these visits are most important because often they are the few that an elderly person gets. Many really do love a 94-year-old relative, but lack either the time or the courage to spend time with the person,” Hierholzer concluded:
And yet the power of being with just one visiting human being and having just one hour outside the house, spent in a restaurant, is immeasurable to helping an older person deal with the daily monotony of watching TV and reading books alone. Let’s be the one visitor who finds the time.
