Have you ever wondered if your issues with the Church are a factor of your age and not just a reflection of the state of the Church? Is it a coincidence that Catholic liturgies are attended by young marrieds with small children in preschool through 8^th grade, and members of the AARP? Where are the middle-somethings – those of us with teenagers or college age kids, those of us with working kids and recently emptied nests?

Is it our age or our stage in life that keeps us too busy or makes us too ready to criticize? Are we too easily disillusioned now, having been around long enough to personally know corrupt members of the clergy? Or do we have a hard time hearing “wisdom” preached to us by someone younger than our own children?

I found the relationship between Clint Eastwood’s character and his pastor in the movie Gran Torino a very real portrayal of this latter dilemma.