World Day of Grandparents! Happy Pioneer's Day!
World Day of Grandparents! Happy Pioneer's Day!
There is a lot to celebrate this weekend. We are celebrating Pioneer Days: a celebration of the spirit of community, family, and friends. Today, on the fourth Sunday of July, we celebrate Grandparents Day.
On January 31, 2021, Pope Francis announced the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, to be observed on the fourth Sunday of July, coinciding with the feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents and Jesus’ grandparents, Sts. Joachim and Anne. Vittorio Scelzo, the dicastery’s coordinator for the pastoral care of the elderly, said that Pope Francis’ announcement of the celebration of the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly is connected to the Days established for the Word of God and for the Poor. Pope Francis said, “Grandparents are often forgotten, and we forget this wealth of preserving roots and passing on.” Vittorio Scelzo said in an interview that Pope Francis reminded us, “Young people, adults, and our society cannot save themselves without the elderly.”
Pope Leo XIV wrote in his message for the VI World Day of Grandparents and Elderly, “The life of the Church and the world can only be understood in light of the passage of generations. Embracing the elderly helps us to understand that life is more than just the present moment, and should not be wasted in superficial encounters and fleeting relationships. Instead, life is constantly pointing us toward the future. In the book of Genesis, we find the moving episode of the blessing given by the aged Jacob to his grandchildren, the sons of Joseph; his words are an appeal to look to the future with hope, as the time when God’s promises will be fulfilled (cf. Gen 48:8-20). If it is true that the weakness of the elderly needs the strength of the young, it is equally true that the inexperience of the young needs the witness of the elderly in order to build the future with wisdom. How often our grandparents have been for us examples of faith and devotion, civic virtue and social commitment, memory and perseverance amid trials! The precious legacy that they have handed down to us with hope and love will always be a source of gratitude and a summons to perseverance.” Let us honor our grandparents and receive their blessings.
This Sunday reading invites us to reflect on prayer. Fr. Tommy Lee wrote in one of his sermons, “When I was in Florida recently, I visited the Kennedy Space Center. I saw Cape Canaveral and the launch site for the space shuttle. In the Space Center, I was able to look at and touch moon rock. Through the miracle of modern science and space travel, I reached out and touched the moon! When we pray, we leave this world and touch God.”
In the first reading, we see Abraham’s intercession for God’s mercy on behalf of the city of Sodom. He pleads for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah by talking directly to God and asking God to change his plans. He doesn’t just ask; he is persistent in asking, pushing for more mercy each time. It may look like a comical dialogue. Like a little child who keeps asking and asking until they get what he/she wants. On the other hand, God is gentle and merciful.
The first reading pairs with the Gospel, Luke 11:1-13, which recounts the Lord’s Prayer and Jesus' teaching on prayer in general. This passage begins with Jesus in prayer, an intimate moment with his Father. Then one of his disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." Jesus taught them to pray by using the intimate word “Abba,” “Father,” to address God. Our Father is Father who listens to us; he is merciful. Psalmist says that God is true, he has a long memory for His promises and a short memory for our failures to keep ours. We must trust in His love and mercy.
This prayer we all pray every day. This prayer begins with God, calling me Abba, Father —a deep relationship between God and me. Then God’s purpose in my life is, “Thy kingdom come and thy will be done.” Then it goes to our needs: “Give us each day our daily bread.” Then we say, “Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us.”
Then we pray “Lead us not into temptation.” In 2019, Pope Francis officially approved a change to the translation of the Lord's Prayer, replacing "lead us not into temptation" with "do not let us fall into temptation," a translation that many scholars consider more accurate to the original text. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2846, states,...God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one”; on the contrary, he wants to set us free from evil. We ask him not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in the battle "between flesh and spirit"; this petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength.”
In the Gospel, Jesus continues after the prayer, further explaining the intimacy that God longs for us. He tells the story of a man who wants to be hospitable and asks his neighbor to lend him some food to give to his guests. At the end of the story, Jesus reminds us that God is there for us beyond our understanding. Every time we pray we touch God. Every time we come together to celebrate the Eucharist, heaven meets earth, God comes to us and becomes part of our life. Prayer changes us and others, making us ready to receive God's grace.
Prayer can change the course of history. So let us pray, pray, pray. “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-