This Sunday we celebrate international World Day of the Grandparents and the Elderly, which falls on Monday, as well as Safeguarding Sunday for our Archdiocese. We are grateful to all that the grandparents of our parish do and want to thank them for it. The small chocolate we will be giving as you leave mass is but the smallest of tokens. We are also cognizant of the fact that we have a sacred obligation to look after the weak and the vulnerable, the children and youth of our and every parish. Below are two prayers for you to use in your prayer, one from the safeguarding team of the archdiocese for children, and one for grandparents from MARFAM. I hope that they enrich your prayer, your appreciation and your commitment.
Prayer for Grandparents and Elderly by MARFAM
Lord, today we bring to you in prayer our grandparents and elderly. We thank you for them and for the gifts of life they have shared with us. We thank you too for the memories they created and passed on. They were born into a world different to ours. As times have changed they may have struggled to keep up and sometimes lost touch. Forgive us for the times we have been impatient with them and help us to be generous with our love and care for them in their old age. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Prayer for the Ministry of Safeguarding
God of mercy and compassion, you care for all your children and never abandon them. You see the suffering we cannot see, the wounds that lie deep within,
And the cries that have been ignored.
Send your Holy Spirit to guide and support us.
Teach us to listen to the pain we cannot imagine, to see the scars that time does not heal, And speak with confidence for those who have no voice.
May we find in Jesus, your Son, the courage to reach out to all who suffer,
The openness to respond to all in need.
He is the innocent victim who redeems us by his love;
the face of mercy who witnesses to the truth.
In his name may we treat survivors with dignity, learn from them in humility, and respond to them with integrity.
We pray for perpetrators to acknowledge and understand the pain inflicted unto their victims and for them to heal from the internal hurt they themselves experienced.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. AMEN
