The Holy Father Leo XIV has launched the Church into a "'revolution' of gratitude and care, frequently visiting the elderly, creating for them and with them networks of support and prayer, weaving relationships that can give hope and dignity to those who feel forgotten". The occasion is the V World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly.
The Day will be celebrated on Sunday, July 27, with the motto "Blessed is the one who does not see his hope vanish" (Sir 14:2). These are the words of Sirach.
The Pope states in his Message that "a change of pace is needed, witnessing an assumption of responsibility on the part of the whole Church".
Every parish, association, ecclesial group
"Every parish, association and ecclesial group is called to be the protagonist of the "revolution" of gratitude and care. And he specifies: this can be done "by frequently visiting the elderly, creating for them and with them networks of support and prayer, weaving relationships that can give hope and dignity".
The Jubilee that we are living "helps us to discover that hope is always a source of joy, at any age. Likewise, when it has been tempered by the fire of a long life, it becomes the source of full beatitude. This is how the Pope begins his words.
Christian hope, the Pontiff emphasizes, "always urges us to risk more, to think big, not to be content with the status quo. Specifically, to work for a change that restores esteem and affection to the elderly."
Jubilee can be earned by visiting the elderly
Leo XIV then recalls that the Pope Francis’ wanted the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly "to be celebrated above all by going to the meeting of those who are alone".
And for this reason, "it has been decided that those who cannot come to Rome this year, on pilgrimage, 'can obtain the Jubilee Indulgence if they go to visit for a suitable time the [...] elderly in solitude, [...] as if making a pilgrimage towards Christ present in them (cf. Mt 25, 34-36)" (Apostolic Penitentiary, Norms on the Concession of the Jubilee Indulgence, III).
Visiting an elderly person is a way of encountering Jesus, who frees us from indifference and loneliness, the Pope points out, and so he emphasizes Vatican News.
To live with them a liberation from loneliness and abandonment.
The Papal message considers the elderly from a jubilee perspective, and states that "we too are called to live with them a liberation, especially from loneliness and abandonment".
"God's faithfulness to his promises teaches us that there is a beatitude in old age, an authentically evangelical joy, which asks us to break down the walls of indifference that often imprison the elderly," he adds.
Our societies, in all their latitudes, are all too often becoming accustomed to allowing such an important and rich part of their fabric to be marginalized and forgotten, reflects Leo XIV.
Love for our loved ones, and transmission of faith
The Pope continues his words by appealing to love and to a vital memory of family members. "Love for our loved ones - for the spouse with whom we have spent a large part of our lives, for our children, for the grandchildren who brighten our days - does not fade when our strength wanes. On the contrary, it is often precisely this affection that rekindles our energies, giving us hope and consolation."
These signs of the vitality of love, he continues, "which have their root in God himself, give us courage and remind us that 'even if our outer man is being destroyed, our inner man is being renewed day by day' (2 Co 4,16). Therefore, especially in old age, let us persevere trusting in the Lord. Let us allow ourselves to be renewed each day by our encounter with him in prayer and at Mass.
Finally, the Holy Father encourages everyone: "Let us pass on with love the faith that we have lived for so many years, in the family and in daily encounters; let us always praise God for his benevolence, let us cultivate unity with our loved ones, let our hearts embrace those who are farthest away and, in particular, those who live in need. We will be signs of hope, at any age".
Proposal of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life
On the occasion of the Jubilee of Hope, and of this World Day, the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life has prepared a pastoral proposal so that even the elderly who cannot physically participate in pilgrimages can experience the grace of the Jubilee.
In the pastoral kitThe Jubilee celebration, available on the event's website, suggests a Jubilee celebration that can be experienced in the places where the elderly live. The grace of the Jubilee is always for everyone!
