SYNOD ON SYNODALITY (2021–2023)
The cover illustration represents the exercise in which the Church is invited to engage in this process of synodality. Gathered by the Lord and guided by the Holy Spirit, through a journey of prayer, the people of God from all continents, representing diverse ages and kinds of lives, come together to listen to each other, including those marginalized, participating and reflecting on how to be transformed into an inclusive community sent to the mission in the world.
Radar
of the world through their prayers. Credit: Photo by form PxHere.
Amid crises and war, grandparents’ prayers can transform the world
In his message for the 2nd World Day of Prayer for Grandparents and the Elderly, Pope Francis encourages the elderly to persevere in hope and reminds them of their great power to transform the world through prayer and tenderness. The 85-year-old Pope insists that grandparents are invaluable despite messages to the contrary in our “throwaway culture”
BY Deborah Castellano Lubov | ROME
POPE FRANCIS says aging is not a condemnation, but a blessing; even if society or our frailties may tempt us to think otherwise. The elderly are invaluable and God wants them to persevere in hope!
Pope Francis instituted this World Day in 2021—this year to be celebrated on Sunday 24 July—since grandparents are often forgotten, but they “are the link between generations, passing on the experience of life and faith to the young.”
Society implies that the elderly are useless
Pope Francis recalled Psalm 92: 14 (“in their old age they still bring forth fruit”). “These words,” the Pope said, “are glad tidings and ‘a true gospel’ that we can proclaim, and which run counter to what the world thinks about this stage of life. Many people are afraid of old age; they consider it ‘a sort of disease’ with which any contact is best avoided. The elderly, they think, are none of their concern and should be set apart, perhaps in homes or places where they can be cared for, lest we have to deal with their problems. This is the mindset of the ‘throw-away culture’.”
Many things that used to occupy the elderly’s time and energy are no longer so pressing, while diminishing strength and the onset of sickness leave them feeling uncertain. “The fast pace of the world—with which we struggle to keep up—seems to leave us no alternative but to implicitly accept the idea that we are useless,” the Pope said.
Persevere in hope
“That same Psalm 92 urges us to persevere in hope as the Lord has been present at every stage of our lives. Along with old age and white hairs, God continues to give us the gift of life and to keep us from being overcome by evil. If we trust in Him, we will find the strength to praise Him still. We will come to see that growing old is more than the natural decline of the body or the inevitable passage of time, but the gift of a long life!”
Staying active
The Pope encourages the elderly to cultivate the interior life through the assiduous reading of the Word of God, daily prayer, reception of the sacraments and participation in the liturgy. “In addition to our relationship with God, we should also cultivate our relationships with others: first of all, by showing affectionate concern for our families, our children and grandchildren, but also for the poor and those who suffer, by drawing near to them with practical assistance and our prayers.” Then he added: “These things, will help us not to feel like mere bystanders, sitting on our porches or looking out from our windows, as life goes on all around us. We should learn to discern everywhere the presence of the Lord. Old age is no time to give up and lower the sails, but a season of enduring fruitfulness: a new mission awaits us and bids us look to the future.” The Pope encouraged the elderly to take an active role in the revolution of tenderness.
Grandparents’ prayers can transform the world
“Our world is passing through a time of trial and testing, beginning with the sudden, violent outbreak of the pandemic, and then by a war that is harming peace and development on a global scale,” the Pope said.
“These great crises risk anaesthetizing us to the reality of other ‘epidemics’ and widespread forms of violence that menace the human family and our common home. All this points to the need for a profound change, a conversion.”
Then he called the attention to the great responsibility of the elderly in “teaching the women and men of our time to regard others with the same understanding and loving gaze with which we regard our own grandchildren. We can be teachers of a way of life that is peaceful and attentive to those in greatest need. We have a responsibility to protect the world,” the Pope insisted.
“Our grandparents held us in their arms and carried us on their knees; now is our time to carry—with practical assistance or our prayer—not only our own grandchildren, but also many frightened grandchildren whom we have not yet met, who may be fleeing from war or suffering its effects. Let us hold in our hearts—like St Joseph, a loving and attentive father—the little ones of Ukraine, of Afghanistan, of South Sudan…”
‘Chorus’ of a spiritual sanctuary
“Our world needs the recognition that we are not saved alone, and that happiness is a bread we break together,” the Pope said.
“We are called to be artisans of the revolution of tenderness in our world! Let us do so by learning to make ever more frequent and better use of the most valuable instrument at our disposal and, indeed, the one best suited to our age: prayer.”
The Pope encouraged the elderly to be ‘poets of prayer,’ stressing, “Our trustful prayer can do a great deal: it can accompany the cry of pain of those who suffer, and help change hearts.”
Pope Francis invited them to be “the enduring ‘chorus’ of a great spiritual sanctuary, where prayers of supplication and songs of praise sustain the community that toils and struggles in the field of life.”
Living the World Day
The World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, “is an opportunity to proclaim once more, with joy, that the Church wants to celebrate together with all those whom the Lord—in the words of the Bible—has ‘filled with days’.”
“I ask you to make this Day known in your parishes and communities; to seek out those elderly persons who feel most alone, at home or in residences where they live. Let us make sure that no one feels alone on this day. Expecting a visit can transform those days when we think we have nothing to look forward to; from an initial encounter, a new friendship can emerge. Visiting the elderly who live alone is a work of mercy in our time!”
“Let us ask Our Lady, Mother of Tender Love, to make all of us artisans of the ‘revolution of tenderness,’ so that together we can set the world free from the spectre of loneliness and the demon of war.”
| Dates To Remember |
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June 1 – Global Day of Parents 4 – International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression 5 – Pentecost Sunday 5 – World Environment Day 8 – World Oceans Day 12 – World Day Against Child Labour 13 – International Albinism Awareness Day 15 – World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 16 – National Youth Day in South Africa 17 – World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 19 – International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict 20 – World Refugee Day 23 – International Widows’ Day 26 – International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 27 – Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day July 3 – International Day of Cooperatives 11 – World Population Day 15 – World Youth Skills Day 18 – Nelson Mandela International Day 24 – World Day of Prayer for Grandparents and the Elderly 30 – International Day of Friendship 30 – World Day against Trafficking in Persons |
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