Aging can be feared, liked or temporarily ignored, all at one and the same time. You grow older, you retire from work, you end up with much less energy and you can easily end up in a vicious cycle where everything around you starts bothering you. The worst possible scenario I envisage is that of becoming a cynic! Every initiative taken up by the younger generations is never good, because you would be quick to say that it has already been tried and tested in your own time and it did not work! Another great danger is that of feeling superior simply because you ‘have the experience’!
Then again you can also perceive age as an opportunity, as a mature stage in life, as a time when finally you can cross out more items from your bucket list! Towards the end of my career and towards the early years of my retirement, I went abroad quite a few times, with my favourite destinations remaining the Swiss Alps and the Black Forest in Germany.
I cannot say that old age has offered any significant obstacle to my vocation.
To be fair, most probably my age baffled my own superiors who had to take the difficult decision whether to accept this 62-year-old pensioner as a seminarian.
Some decisions taken by my superiors helped me considerably. As was the case with ‘mature seminarians’ before me, at first, they thought of actually sending me to Beda College in Rome. Fortunately, however, the decision to study at the University of Malta prevailed. I was thus able to live with my family and follow a special program of studies at the Seminary as designed by the Rector. This meant that I could still help out my children in their daily lives. Meanwhile, I built stronger relationships with the parish priest and community of Ħal Safi. They accompanied me throughout my vocational journey. At the Seminary I also built relationships with the other seminarians with whom I will definitely be sharing a lot of future pastoral duties. I cannot but simply be grateful towards the way my formators, the Seminary, the seminarians and especially the other colleagues in my year group continued to provide me with wonderful examples of spirituality, as they shared their journey with me. They made me feel quite at home despite the fact that I was somewhat different in a number of aspects. This helped me immensely.
Tony Pace – pacetoni@gmail.com
Tista’ tħares lejn l-età bħala xkiel … tikber fl-età, ‘tispiċċa’ mix-xogħol (toħroġ bil-pensjoni), tonqoslok l-enerġija u jista’ faċilment jibda jdejqek kollox. L-agħar xenarju li nara jien huwa li meta tikber, hemm tentazzjoni kbira li ssir ċiniku. Kull inizjattiva li jieħu ħaddieħor taraha li mhix tajba: “Dik diġà ppruvajnieha ‘fi żmieni’ u ma rnexxietx!” Periklu kbir ieħor huwa li taħseb li għax inti għandek l-esperjenza u ġarrabt, is-soċjetà għandha toqgħod għalli tgħidilha int!
Tista’ mbagħad tħares lejn l-età bħala opportunità, bħala maturità, bħala żmien meta wieħed jista’ jkompli jaqta’ mill-famuża bucket list! Min-naħa tiegħi, lejn l-aħħar tal-karriera tiegħi u fil-bidu tal-pensjoni sifirt ħafna. Id-destinazzjonijiet favoriti tiegħi jibqgħu l-Iżvizzera speċjalment l-Alpi, u l-Black Forest fil-Ġermanja.
Ma nistax ngħid li l-età fixklitni wisq fejn tidħol il-vokazzjoni saċerdotali. Probabbli iktar fixklet lis-superjuri tiegħi li kellhom jieħdu d-deċiżjoni iebsa jekk lil dan il-pensjonant (kelli 62 sena meta bdejt il-formazzjoni) kellhomx il-kuraġġ jagħtuh il-go-ahead biex jibda l-mixja saċerdotali.
Definittivament, allura, l-età ma kinitx xkiel. Lili għenuni ħafna xi deċiżjonijiet li ħadu s-superjuri tiegħi dwari. Għall-bidu kien hemm il-ħsieb li jibagħtuni nistudja l-Kulleġġ ta’ Beda ġewwa Ruma. Għall-grazzja t’Alla ttieħdet id-deċiżjoni li nagħmel kors speċjali l-Università ta’ Malta, nibqa’ ngħix id-dar mal-familja tiegħi u nitla’ s-Seminarju bi programm imfassal mir-Rettur. Id-dar stajt inkompli nakkumpanja lit-tfal fil-ħajja tagħhom. Fir-raħal fejn ngħix, f’Ħal Safi bnejt iktar relazzjonijiet mal-kappillan u l-komunità li akkumpanjawni fil-mixja vokazzjonali tiegħi. Is-Seminarju stajt insir naf aktar lill-kollegi li wara kollox, magħhom se nkun qed niltaqa’ fil-ħidmiet pastorali tiegħi. Ma nistax ma nkunx grat għall-mod kif il-formators u d-direzzjoni tas-Seminarju u s-seminaristi, u b’mod speċjali sħabi tas-sena tiegħi, tawni eżempji mill-aqwa ta’ spiritwalità, u qasmu miegħi l-mixja tagħhom. Lili qisuni bħala wieħed minnhom għalkemm kemxejn differenti minnhom minn diversi aspetti. Dan lili għenni immens.