Are your preparing for the day for grandparents and the elderly on 26 July? Check out https://marfam.org.za/grandparents-day-2026/ and Pope Leo’s message at https://www.vatican.va

July 19. SEE.  Sunday 16A.   God’s patience and our impatience.  This time in his homily Fr Fidelis commented, “So many farming stories.  That was the traditional way that previous generations and many families lived long ago, growing their own food, bartering for what they needed and with each one having their own task to do. Were they the “good old days”, or the “bad old days” in your opinion? Then sometimes there was an enemy, maybe a jealous neighbour who would sabotage the crop. Does that still happen today I wonder?”  He paused for a bit and carried on.   “In this parable Jesus is telling us not to hoe and weed but let the weeds grow up together with the wheat and then separate them. He is referring to life in the world, where good and evil live side by side and it is almost impossible to weed out the evil.  Does that mean we elderly having led by example now have to trust the future to the young?   Do we continue to fight corruption, give up or trust that in the end God’s justice will triumph and all will be resolved? What do you think?” 

JUDGE. Reflect, share, act. Scripture:    Jesus put another parable before the crowd.  “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.  Matthew 13: 24- 43.  Pope Francis.  The Church does not restrict her mission to the private sphere.  She cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the building of a better world or fail to reawaken the spiritual energy that can contribute to the betterment of society.  We want to be a Church that serves, that leaves home and goes forth from its places of worship in order to accompany life, to sustain hope, to be the sign of unity, to build bridges, to break down walls, to sow seeds of reconciliation. FT 276. Pope Leo:  In the past, it was largely up to the State to guide and direct innovation. Today, however, the main drivers of development are private, often transnational, parties that are endowed with resources and the capacity to intervene that surpass those of many Governments. Technological power thus takes on an unprecedented, predominantly “private” aspect, which makes it even more challenging to discern, govern and direct such power toward the common good. For this reason it is necessary to begin a shared discernment process for identifying the spiritual and cultural roots of ongoing transformations.   MH5-6

ACT AND PRAY.  For wisdom and clarity in this time of transformation. Pray the Prayer of St Francis for 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.