17th sunday in ordinary time

​This Sunday we celebrate the First World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.  The theme of this first World Day is “I am with you always” (cf. Mt 28:20).  The theme’s purpose is to convey the closeness of God and the Church to the elderly and also to emphasize the intergenerational closeness between the young and the elderly.
 
This World Day that we are celebrating today can help us to understand that all of us, young and old, grandparents and grandchildren, whether or not we belong to the same family, are “one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call”.  This awareness comforts us and shapes us as a people as we gather around the altar on which the Lord multiplies the bread of life and the Word of our salvation.  The elderly (or the young at heart) − like the young − are important.  Without them the body of the Church lacks something.  That is why it is necessary for them to have their rightful place within each of our communities.  It is crucial that we share in the lives of older people in the same way that the Lord, in giving us his Body and Blood, has made us sharers in his own.
 
As the themes of “Love of God” and “Love of Neighbour” continue to resonate in the back of our minds, consider calling that grandparent or “young at heart” person in your life, to let them know that they are loved.  Reassure them that we are united together at the celebration of the Mass, and that in a special way they will be prayed for at our Masses this weekend at St. Julia.  And if that someone special has gone before us, remember that they continue to hear our prayers, and that they are praying for us.
 
Click here to read Pope Francis’ Message
 
YOUTUBE Pope Francis’ Message for the 1st World Day of Prayer for Grandparent and the Elderly
 
May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to you joining me for the celebration of Mass this weekend.
 
Fr. Greg