AMERICA/VENEZUELA - The Pontifical Mission Societies and the II World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly

Saturday, 23 July 2022

Caracas (Agenzia Fides) - The National Direction of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) of Venezuela has created and made available a handout in order to live with joy and in the company of loved ones the II World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly which, upon indication of Pope Francis will be celebrated in Churches all over the world tomorrow, Sunday July 24, with the theme "They will still bear fruit in old age" (Ps 92:15).
The handout explains: "It is an invitation and an appeal addressed to everyone to reconsider and re-evaluate grandparents and the elderly, who in many cases are kept on the margins of the family, the work environment and ecclesial communities, with the thought that they are a burden and they do not have much to contribute. Their experiences of life and faith can help build societies aware of their roots and capable of dreaming of a more united future. The Pope also recalls that "the alliance between the generations is indispensable". In the handout you will find the guide to the Eucharistic celebration planned for this Day, the prayers, the prayers of the faithful and some suggestions for concrete actions to involve grandparents and the elderly, as well as nice games to be played in the community, at home or in the parish.
Among the concrete actions, in particular: visit the elderly who are in the Institutes to bring them a moment of joy and hope; carry out recreational activities (singing, games according to age, karaoke, etc.) that make you forget, even for a short time, the condition in which they find themselves or of being hospitalized in a health center; organize the recitation of the rosary for the life and health of all grandparents throughout the world in the parish or in the sector of competence. The handout, addressed directly to grandparents, underlines the value of missionary action: "Dear grandparents, never forget that life and mission are first inside, that they must be a witness for the youngest. It is important that our whole life and existence is imbued with spirit, dimension and missionary commitment. In God's saving plan no one is excluded, but we are all necessary and useful with our prayer, our life and our work to build the Kingdom of God and a better and more fraternal world. All of us, from our baptism, as children of God, have been consecrated for the mission of renewing and sanctifying the world with our specific and daily life". The elderly therefore still have much to offer to the Church and the handout asks them for help: "We count on your prayers and your love so that the mission of evangelizing and converting the world may produce abundant fruit".
The handout ends with a double appeal: to join the path of reflection on old age that is carried out by the missionary group for the sick and the elderly on Facebook or Instagram by @amdeam_omp and share the activities that take place in the community, parish or family on social networks accompanied by the hashtag #WorldSickDay, #JME #AMDEAM #OMPVenezuela and tag @omp_venezuela. (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 23/7/2022)


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