you bestowed on Saint Joachim and Saint Anne
this singular grace:
that their daughter, Mary,
should become the Mother of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Grant, at their intercession,
the salvation you promised to your people.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Bishop Zurek seems more interested in seeing what fruit his “Test” of reciting, “Mary had a little Lamb”, on the Diocesan News website will bear than in ordering any functions to be held at St. Mary’s Cathedral for World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly this Sunday, July 28; however, can I not still be granted the plenary indulgence offered if, as a grandparent, I’m ‘motivated by a true spirit of penance and Charity’, and participate with Pope Francis and the rest of the world in harvesting the fruit the Day will bear by writing this post❓
Participants in World Grandparents Day granted Plenary Indulgence
In this morning’s Homily Father Tony said I must be bearing fruit if I’m Catholic; indeed, isn’t there, as Father Tony said, a “purpose for which God made (me), and he has given (me) the pledge of the Spirit”, to accomplish; accordingly, Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus, “While leading a devout and holy life in (their) human nature,…gave birth to a daughter nobler than the angels, whose queen she now is“;…
…therefore, do I have to have a bishop who shepherds wisely and prudently in order for me to bear fruit;…
…besides, will not, “The Lord…guard us as a shepherd guards his flock“, even if my bishop does not;…
…Alleluia, alleluia;
moreover, since, “Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance“;
Alleluia, alleluia…
…hence, even if Bishop Zurek casts off World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, does that mean I should not, “support the efforts of every ecclesial community to forge bonds between the generations and to combat loneliness” by “cherishing the charisms of grandparents and the elderly, and the contribution they make to the life of the Church,” with their “ancient stories, full of symbolism, (which) bear witness to a conviction which we today share, that everything is interconnected, and that genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others“; subsequently, by doing this will I not be one, “…who indeed bears fruit” ❓