“Do not hide old age, do not hide the fragility of old age,” Pope Francis said in his Wednesday audience. “This is a teaching for all of us.”

I did not expect that the first time I administered the sacrament of baptism would be at 2 a.m. in a hospital. And I could not have guessed it to have happened at the intersection of my vocations as both a Jesuit and a nurse.

God is in all things. But in moments of pain and tragedy, we want that extra wink, that hand of comfort.

Even though old age can weaken the body, Pope Francis said, it can also sharpen a person’s connection to God.

James Martin, S.J., shares the lessons he learned as a young Jesuit about accompaniment.

A retired nurse who felt called to help Afghan refugees and the young Afghan mother she embraced as a mentor were killed in a truck accident while out taking a walk Feb. 15.