Prayer for the Fourth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly 28 July 2024
Lord, faithful God,
You who created us in Your image,
You who never leaves us alone
and who accompanies us through every season of life,
Do not abandon us, take care of us,
And grant us, once again,
The ability to discover ourselves
and recognise that we are Your children.
Renew our hearts with your Word
And do not allow anyone to be cast aside.
May your Spirit of love fill us with Your tenderness
And teach us to say:
“I will not abandon you!”
To those we meet on our journey.
With the help of your beloved Son,
may we not lose the taste for fraternity
And may we not conform to the sadness of loneliness.
Help us to look to the future with renewed hope,
And make the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly
A day without loneliness, and a day abundant
with the first-fruits of Your peace.
Amen.
Prayers to Jesus’ Grandparents
Saint Anne and Saint Joachim,
you were especially favoured by God,
on the threshold of the New Testament,
to be the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.
You provided your daughter
with a loving home, family and faithful teaching,
and brought her up
to be the worthy Mother of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Your way of parenting was for her an example
to bring forth the only-begotten Son of God, Jesus,
treasuring all things in her heart. (cf. Lk 2.19, 51)
Your faith laid the foundation of courage and strength
that allowed Mary to stand by the Cross as her son was crucified
and to still believe. (cf. Jn 19.25-27)
In communion with Mary and Joseph,
intercede to your grandson Jesus for all parents,
so that they may help their children, to grow in strength and in knowledge
and to discover the mission that God entrusts to them
in the world and in the Church.
Good Saint Anne,
Mother of Mary, the Blessed one among women, (cf. Luke 1.42)
you were thanked by the newcomers on this glorious and free land
for your protecting intercession during their uncertain voyage across the ocean.
and you were invoked by them
in their trials and in establishing new homes and traditions.
Intercede for all our families
so that, through the help of the Holy Spirit,
we may grow together in peace and understanding
and make our home hospitable to our visitors and guests.
May we persevere, like you, in the love of Jesus and Mary
and live pure and blameless lives in the sight of God.
Grandmother of Jesus, our Saviour,
you were honoured by the First Nations people of this land
in your role of nurturing him and bring him up to maturity.
Intercede for all grandmothers,
so that they may nurture their grandchildren with love and wisdom,
teaching them to find their way in life
and to be right in word and in deed.
Gentle Saint Joachim,
Father of the Virgin Handmaid of the Lord, (cf. Luke 1.38)
Grandfather of Jesus,
among your descendants, you had the privilege
to count the One whom your own ancestors longed to see,
the long expected Messiah.
Intercede for all elders and grandfathers,
who worked hard on this land, defending its integrity,
and who grew old in the service of the Almighty.
May God grant them
to benefit from their remaining strength,
to share the wealth of their experience and wisdom
and to enter his Kingdom at the end of their earthly time.
Good Saint Anne and Saint Joachim,
Parents of Mary, the “favoured one,” (Luke 1.28)
accompany us, in our faith journey on this land,
to the glory and praise of God,
now and for ever and ever.
Amen