Anyone who has been following the live streaming of Masses during the pandemic and after, could not fail to have noticed that not only are many of the priests elderly, but almost without exception, regular congregations are made up of elderly men and women. This stark realisation could be depressing; it looks like it could signal the demise of the Church as we have known it, where churches were full to capacity for Sunday Mass and queues formed on Saturday for Confession.
But it need not be so. Pope Francis is challenging us to look to the future. He asks us to recognise that the “elderly can still bear fruit”. With this in mind, he has designated the fourth Sunday of July as World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, recognising that not every elderly person is a grandparent. This year, that day falls on July 24, when we are asked to launch what Pope Francis calls a “revolution of tenderness”, a spiritual and non-violent revolution, in which all can take part. It is no coincidence, he claims, that war is returning to Europe at a time, when those who experienced the demon of war in the last century, are dying out.
He calls on parishes and communities to seek out those who are alone and feeling unloved and to channel their silent prayers towards those who are crying out in pain. Many of us have known the joy of growing up with grandparents, from whom we learned the power of gentle love. Now, Pope Francis says, is the time for “those of us who are elderly”, to hold in our hearts, not just our own grandchildren, but those children and families, who are being crucified by war, famine, poverty and cruelty, all over the world.
We may never meet them or know how we have touched them but the power of prayer knows no boundaries and can change a heart of stone.
While in many cultures the elderly are valued and respected, there is a growing trend in “this poisonous throw-away culture” to regard ageing as a disease, to be avoided at all costs. Those who have caught that disease are often hidden away out of the sight of those who do not want to be reminded that no matter what we do, old age comes to us all. No-one prepares us for old age and at times we are taken by surprise but sooner or later the day dawns when we realise our strength is ebbing, illness is a real possibility and our independence is whittling away.
But, says Pope Francis, “old age is not a condemnation but a blessing. It is not time to lower the sails; a new mission awaits us.”
It is time for relearning and reigniting the instrument most suitable to our age – prayer.
How often do we hear a generic plea to pray for the elderly and housebound; but what if we turned that on its head and asked the elderly and the housebound to pray for those in our parish and community who have lost contact with the Church, because of apathy, past experience or despair but who are crying out for help. This is what Pope Francis is proposing and in doing so is challenging parishes to find innovative ways of doing so.
PATRICIA SHEARER
Belfast BT15
Disillusioned with SDLP
Recently Queen Elizabeth II reflected “with the benefit of historical hindsight we can see all things which we wish had been done differently or not at all”.
I am also in my golden years and reflect on the early Civil Rights marches and the campaign to get basic rights. This struggle resulted in oppression and assaults meted out by the authorities. It was followed by prosecutions for engaging in civil disobedience.
Now that we are living in a more ‘liberal’ and so-called ‘progressive’ society, which is more concerned with the ‘me culture’ and ‘my rights’, politicians have supported this populist trend and are complicit in bringing in legislation which is the antithesis of the most basic human right of all ‘the right to life’ – dressed up as ‘health care’ for women, giving it an air of respectability.
In the halcyon days when I helped found the Antrim branch of the SDLP, we were often called ‘the stoop down low party’.
Now I feel they have really stooped down low aligning with Sinn Féin in the ‘choice brigade’. Mary Lou couldn’t wait to liberate the north and bring in abortion, sending her delegates to Westminster to lobby for the same.
Sinn Féin have torn up the precious ‘Proclamation’ which promised to ‘cherish all the children equally’. We now join the UK in aping their ‘health care programme’ for the unborn and vulnerable women.
Not content with welcoming this legislation the SDLP and other parties are now heavily engaged in stifling voices who are concerned with the taking of human life – legislation re protests.
It reminds me of Herod quivering with fear in his palace at the deafening sound of ‘a voice crying in the wilderness’. This fear and anguish culminated in the ‘slaughter of the innocents’.
Having campaigned and voted for a better, fairer Ireland I despair how they have endorsed the horror that abortion has brought to our land; yes, we need to empathise with women in difficult situations but not by terminating the unborn.
J GALLAGHER
Antrim, Co Antrim
Protocol is here to stay
The Orange Order’s Mervyn Gibson was to all intent and purposes right when he stated that there would not be another 100 years of what he described as ‘Northern Ireland’ if the protocol is not resolved. The problem for Mervyn is that the revered leadership of Boris and Co that he slavishly adores has already resolved the issue by signing the protocol in the first place, and if he leaves a smudged fingerprint by meddling with it, he will be breaking international law in front of the world, so that’s a no go. Even foreign secretary Liz Truss has admitted that the protocol is here to stay. Mervyn was speaking to a few thousand onlookers at Stormont. Gone are the days when the biblically enhanced big Ian Paisley could bring out the masses any day of the week to denounce the followers of Rome and consign hundreds of young gullible co-religionists into the arms of the UVF/UDA.
At the same event, Meryvn’s colleague, Edward Stevenson, said: “We are unashamedly a Protestant fraternity committed to the protection of the principles of the Protestant Reformation and the Glorious Revolution.” While that may be so, if and when the people on this island decide by democratic means to assimilate into what will be a united Ireland, everyone – whether they may be Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Jews or dissenter – will have a role to play in making it a welcoming country for all to reside.
JAMES WOODS
Dún na nGall
Chance to show support for cancer charity
I want to make Irish News readers aware that Bowel Cancer UK, the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity, are calling on everyone to Walk Together this June.
Complete a five-mile walk on Saturday June 11, or another day in June that suits you, and ask friends, family and colleagues to sponsor you. All you need to do is raise a minimum of £100, which will go towards their vital services and lifesaving research. Walk Together is a great way to show your support for those undergoing treatment and also remember loved ones. Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer, but it shouldn’t be as it’s treatable and curable, especially when diagnosed early. Bowel Cancer UK is entirely reliant on the generous support of people like you. Your fundraising will help save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer. To find out more visit Bowel Cancer UK’s website: www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/walktogether
SEAN FLETCHER
TV presenter
