Father Marty's Weekly Message

Dear Parishioners,

Yep, I missed it!  SORRY!  I missed mentioning that last Sunday, July 25 the

church celebrated the first ever World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly!

Back in January, Pope Francis announced that the Church would celebrate

World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly as an annual Catholic celebration

on the fourth Sunday in July— July 25 this year.

The pope chose that date because it’s close to the July 26 Feast of St Anne

and Joachim — the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the grandparents

of Jesus Christ.

The pope said he decided to launch a World Day of Grandparents and the

Elderly because “the Holy Spirit even today stirs up thoughts and words of

wisdom in the elderly.”

Pope Francis has lamented that “grandparents are often forgotten,” and said

that after a very difficult year, especially for elderly people, he wanted to offer

them a day of encouragement, solidarity, and consolation.

While not as popular as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, I think that the Pope is right on target with this idea of honoring grandparents and other older folks who have had a special impact and hold a special place in our lives.

While parents often are so busy taking care of all the details of life, it seems that grandparents also have time for us…mine always did!

So, although I’m a week late, give a grandparent a call, pay them a visit, if they have already gone on to their final reward, say a prayer of thanksgiving for all they were for you in life.

I promise to remember next year – on Sunday, July 24, 2022!

Have a good week.

Fr. Marty