Pastoral Guidelines and Liturgy Notes for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.
(Please scroll down for prayers for the World Day for Grandparents.)
Prayer for the Second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly
I give thanks to you, Lord,
For the blessing of a long life
For, to those who take refuge in You,
Grant always to bear fruit.
Forgive, O Lord,
Resignation and disillusionment,
But forsake me not
When my strength declines.
Teach me to look with hope
To the future you give me,
To the mission you entrust to me
And to sing your praises without end.
Make me a tender craftsman
Of Your revolution,
To guard with love my grandchildren
And all the little ones who seek shelter in You.
Protect, O Lord, Pope Francis
And grant Thy Church
To deliver the world from loneliness.
Direct our steps in the way of peace.
Amen.
Prayers for Grandparents and the Elderly
Lord Jesus,
you were born of the Virgin Mary.
the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne.
Look with love on grandparents the world over.
Protect them! They are a source of enrichment for families, for the Church and for all of society.
Support them as they grow older.
May they continue to be for their families strong pillars of Gospel faith,
guardians of noble domestic ideals, living treasuries of sound religious traditions.
Make them teachers of wisdom and courage,
that they may pass on to future generations the fruits of their mature human and spiritual experience.
Lord Jesus,
help families and society to value the presence and role of grandparents.
May they never be ignored or excluded, but always encounter respect and love.
Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed in all the years of life which you give them.
Mary, Mother of all the living,
keep grandparents constantly in your care, accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage,
and by your prayers, grant that all families may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland,
where you await all humanity for the great embrace of life without end.
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