July 3. SEE.   “I don’t know that I want to come to a Bible study programme,” Susan told the PPC rep. “I’m quite happy coming to daily Mass.  Father gives us a few words about the readings, I greet my friends and go home.”   Ernest said, “That somehow is not enough for me. My mind jumps around as I reflect during Adoration time and I often want to have someone to share my thoughts with. I would like there to be a faith sharing group.”

JUDGE. Reflect, share. Scripture: “Behold the days are coming” says the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.”  Amos 8: 9-12. Pope Francis: Dear grandparents, dear elderly persons, we are called to be artisans of the revolution of tenderness in our world.  Let us do so by learning to make ever more frequent and better use of the most valuable instrument at our disposal and indeed, the one best suited to our age: prayer. Let us become as it were, poets of prayer: let us develop a taste for finding our own words, let us once again take up those taught by the Word of God.   Pope Francis message 2022.  Pope Leo:   For many, the discovery of God’s tenderness takes place over the course of their lives, sometimes even in its final stages. It is increasingly common to reach old age without having had a genuine experience of faith. Old age, beginning  with the questions that arise with greater  urgency,  can become the right time to begin or resume a spiritual life. Message for Grandparents and Elderly 2026

ACT AND PRAY. With St Thomas, whose feastday it is let us pray and act for an increase in faith. Pray the Prayer of St Francis and pray for and with grandparents and the elderly.   We pray for God’s blessing on the grandparents and elderly of our families and community,  bless them with peace and contentment and an acceptance that their lives were well spent in your service. We ask St Joachim and St Anne, the grandparents of Jesus, to pray with us.

Grandparents’ prayer :

Heavenly Father, I give you praise and thanks for the great gift of life you have given to me. With wonder and awe I acknowledge that through my life you granted life to my children and they in turn became the parents of my grandchildren. The world in which they live is different from my world and sometimes we do not understand each other. We need your gifts of acceptance and forgiveness so that we can be at peace. We need your gifts of love and joy so that together we may live your plan for our family and all the families of the world. We ask you to grant us these gifts in Jesus’ name. Amen.