The Church has added the World Day of Grandparents and Elderly beginning this year in 2021 on the fourth Sunday of July, near the liturgical memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. That is TODAY!
Prayer for the First World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly
I thank You, Lord, for the comfort of Your presence: even in times of loneliness,
You are my hope and my confidence, You have been my rock and my fortress since my youth!
I thank You for having given me a family and for having blessed me with a long life.
I thank You for moments of joy and difficulty,
for the dreams that have already come true in my life and for those that are still ahead of me.
I thank You for this time of renewed fruitfulness to which You call me.
Increase, O Lord, my faith,
make me a channel of your peace,
teach me to embrace those who suffer more than me,
to never stop dreaming and to tell of your wonders to new generations.
Protect and guide Pope Francis and the Church,
that the light of the Gospel might reach the ends of the earth.
Send Your Spirit, O Lord, to renew the world,
that the storm of the pandemic might be calmed,
the poor consoled and wars ended.
Sustain me in weakness
and help me to live life to the full
in each moment that You give me,
in the certainty that you are with me every day,
even until the end of the age.
Amen.
The resource page from the United States Bishops includes links to a collection of documents that have been published by the church on the importance of grandparents and the older members of our faith communities.
With love,
