Catholic International Group for the Elderly?

“In God’s eyes, there is no retirement”!

This was the joyful conclusion of a small group of elderly and retired persons in a parish outside Paris, France, led by Andre d’Humieres (1887-1975) who in 1952 “met one day to pray together and to reflect on their mission in the Church”.

These words are from Fr. Fausto B. Gomez, O.P. whose article, The Church and the Elderly: Introducing Ascending Life, is published in Boletin Ecclesiastico de Filipinas, Vol LXXXIX, No. 897, May-June 2013, p. 355. The following info is from this article.

So the official name of the Catholic group is Ascending Life International (English), Vida Ascendente Internacional (Spanish) and Vie Montane Internationale (French).

Ascending Life (AL) is recognized by the Church. In the Vatican it is linked with the Pontifical Council for the Laity. Here in the Philippines it is part of the structure of the CBCP Commission on the Laity as part of the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas group.

According to Fr. Gomez “AL is described as a network of small groups… because this is a characteristic of AL since its foundation. Moreover, it is a network of small groups because this — the formation of small groups — is a significant theological pastoral development particularly since Vatican II.

He defined AL as “A small group of elderly/retired men and women who meet together in a climate of fraternal/sisterly friendship to discover and live, in an ascending manner, their vocation and mission as lay Christians.” He puts AL groups in the list of small Christian communities and associations like the BECs, new catechumenate, charismatic groups, Legion of Mary, Couples for Christ, etc. Like these groups AL has a leadership and organizational structure and program.

AL has a specific vocation and a corresponding vision “expressed … by the three words that constitute the motto of Ascending Life, namely, spirituality, friendship and apostolate.”

How these three words are explained and lived one should read the entire article of Fr. Gomez or get in touch with him. He can be reached at faustogomezb@yahoo.com