Gracefully is written by Sister Kate Holmstrom, a Holy Child Sister, resident at a care home in Harrogate, who has just turned 85 years old.
Sister Kate has contributed a number of pieces to Growing Old Grace-fully.
Sister Kate introduces Gracefully as follows:
“Many sights, gestures or even sounds may be perceived as graceful. They resonate, perhaps, with an inner grace inhabiting a person – an open, positive attitude attuned to what is good, true, righteous, beautiful. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they are ready to welcome countless riches and enjoy life!”
Gracefully
Growing old gracefully. With grace. Ageing: a grace. Graceful rhymes with grateful, And gracefully sounds like: graciously. Little girls dancing, gymnasts leaping and bounding, Flying, seemingly without effort, defying gravity. Why do graceful movements, or the clear song of a blackbird Strike an almost physical chord of beauty within us? A smile is a grace, irradiating a tired face And gracing the recipient.
How is it that an ageing body can seem clumsy, ungainly Even painful, to the one who inhabits it? Yet the soul within can be stirring, growing, soaring forward Borne up by the Spirit, the very breath of her Creator. Hail Mary, full of grace, pray for us as we are now, In this moment, (this Moment) That the hour of our death may be grace-filled, That final, gracious grace.
The third of Growing Old Grace-fully‘s 2024 online sessions is Learning From Each Other: Sharing Experience from Parishes on Thursday 18th July, 7:00-8:00pm.
This session is about hearing examples of great work already happening, with contributions from:
* Maureen Connolly from Immaculate Heart Parish, Huddersfield * Breda Theakston from the Elizabeth Prout Centre, talking about Bereavement support * Andrew Winfield from St John Vianney Parish, Leeds
There will also be breakout groups to share other experiences and ideas as to how to enhance the spiritual life of older people in your own parish community and lives. The session will start and finish with prayer and reflection led by Rev. Joe Cortis, who is a Growing Old Grace-fully trustee.
The session will start at 7pm and at 8pm, a Zoom link will be circulated to all attendees and the waiting room will be open from 6:55pm.
To reserve your place, please book a free ticket on Eventbrite here.
This is the reflection, written by Pippa Bonner, from the Growing Old Grace-fully online session Reconciling With Our Paston Wednesday 12th June 2024, which led by Pippa Bonner and Cath Mahoney.
Pippa Bonner is a parishioner at St Aelred’s, Harrogate, a widow, mother and grandmother, with a background in social work, then running a hospice bereavement service and currently working in pastoral care with older people. Pippa is also a Trustee of Growing Old Grace-fully.
Growing Old Grace-fully is hosting six online sessions in 2024.
The second is Reconciling With Our Past is on Wednesday 12th June, 2:30-3:30pm led by Pippa Bonner and Cath Mahoney.
Cath Mahoney is parishioner of Mother of Unfailing Help, mother and grandmother, with a background in community development, a former Growing Old Grace-fully worker and now a trustee.
Pippa Bonner is a parishioner at St Aelred’s Harrogate, a widow, mother and grandmother, with a background in social work, then running a hospice bereavement service and currently working in pastoral care with older people. Pippa is also a Trustee of Growing Old Grace-fully.
Cath and Pippa will lead the session, which will involve breakout groups.
The session will start at 2:30pm and finish at 3:30pm, a Zoom link will be circulated to all attendees in advance and the waiting room will be open from 2:25pm.
To reserve your place, please book a free ticket on Eventbrite here.
This is a one page summary, produced by Paula Shanks, of the Growing Old Grace-fully online session Spirituality in Later Life: Praying Beyond Words, which was on Tuesday 14th May, 7:00-8:00pm with Fr Donal Lucey and Paula Shanks. Paula has a background in teaching and is trained in Ignatian spiritual accompaniment.
Growing Old Grace-fully is hosting six online sessions in 2024.
The first is Spirituality in Later Life: Praying Beyond Words, on Tuesday 14th May, 7:00-8:00pm with Fr Donal Lucey and Paula Shanks.
The session, with reflections and music, is being led by Father Donal Lucey and Paula Shanks. Fr. Donal is a retired Catholic priest of the Leeds Diocese, he was latterly parish priest in Garforth and in Harrogate and is the Chaplain to Faith and Light. Paula has a background in teaching and is trained in Ignatian spiritual accompaniment.
The session will start at 7pm and finish at 8pm.
To reserve your place, please book a free ticket on Eventbrite here.
Please do also share this with anyone you think may be interested in this session and the work of Growing Old Grace-fully.
The next two online sessions will be on these dates:
Wednesday 12th June – 2:30-3:30pm Thursday 18th July – 7:00-8:00pm
Best wishes, Carol Burns On behalf of the Trustees of Growing Old Grace-fully
Risen Christ, when darkness overwhelms us may your dawn beckon.
When fear paralyses us may your touch release us.
When grief torments us may your peace enfold us.
When memories haunt us may your presence heal us.
When justice fails us may your anger ignite us.
When apathy stagnates us may your challenge renew us.
When courage leaves us may your spirit inspire us.
When despair grips us may your hope restore us.
And when death threatens us may your resurrection light lead us.
Amen.
Annabel Shilson-Thomas/CAFOD
You Are the Resurrection
How wonderful, Lord Jesus, you came back You suffered death but conquered it You laid in the tomb but on the third day You rose again O joyful day, Lord Jesus, when you returned You are the resurrection, our hope and our life O glorious and victorious Redeemer
Help us not to be afraid of death For we must pass through it to see you face to face And on the last day we will rise again For you said so Let us rejoice and praise you Our Blessed and triumphant Lord On this happy, joyful feast.
It has been a long-standing tradition that especially during Lent, we are encouraged to meditate on and pray the Stations of the Cross. Indeed Stations of the Cross are a prominent feature of any Catholic Church globally.
The Passion and Death of Our Lord needs to be seen equal to the importance of the Resurrection, which is the principal belief of Christianity.
Hence it is appropriate to reflect upon the events, recorded in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles in the period from the Resurrection of the Lord until Pentecost (the birthday of the Church). This whole period of 50 days is known as Eastertide.
Structure
The devotions of Holy Week are directed to the Resurrection which is, as St. Paul says, the basis of our Faith. If we are united with our Lord in his Passion and death, we share in His Resurrection. If we are with Him in his Holocaust on Calvary, we accompany Him in His glory. (St. Josemaria Escriva)
Opening Prayer:
Father we praise you with joy when Christ became our Paschal Sacrifice. By dying He destroyed our Death; by rising He restored our Life.
Title of the Station:
Please see details below with the appropriate scripture reading, hence you will need access to the New Testament.
V: We adore you Lord and praise you. R: Because by your death and resurrection you give life to the world.
Scripture Reading:
Spend a short period reflecting on the reading.
Pray: Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
V: Jesus, the Lord is Risen R: Alleluia, Alleluia.
Titles of Each Station and relevant scripture reading:
First Station: Jesus rises from the dead. (Matthew 28:1-7)
Second Station: The Disciplines find the empty tomb. (John 20:1-9)
Third Station: The Risen Lord appears to Mary Magdalen. (John 20:11-18)
Fourth Station: The Risen Lord appears to two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. (Luke 24:13-19,25-27)
Fifth Station: The Risen Lord reveals himself at the breaking of bread. (Luke 24:28-35)
Sixth Station: The Risen Lord appears to his disciples: (Luke:24:36-43)
Seventh Station: The Risen Lord gives the power to forgive sins. (John:20:19-23)
Eight Station: The Risen Lord confirms the faith of Thomas. (John 20:24-29)
Ninth Station: The Risen Lord meets his disciples on the shore of Galilee. (John 21:1-9,13)
Tenth Station: The Risen Lord confers primacy on Peter. (John 21:15-17)
Eleventh Station: The Risen Lord entrusts to his disciples His mission to the world. (Matthew 28:16-20)
Twelfth Station: The Risen Lord ascends to the Father. (Acts: 1:6-11)
Thirteenth Station: Waiting for the Holy Spirit with Mary the Mother of Jesus. (Acts 1:12-14)
Fourteenth Station: The Risen Lord sends the Holy Spirit to the disciples. (Acts 2:1-6)
Closing prayer After the 14th Station:
Father around your throne the Saints, our brothers and sisters, sing your praise forever. Their glory fills us with joy and their communion with us in the Church gives us inspiration and strength as we hasten on our pilgrimage of faith, eager to meet them.
Photo courtesy of St. Mel’s Cathedral, Longford (Facebook page)
These beautiful modern Stations of the Cross were sculpted by Ken Thompson for St. Mel’s Cathedral in Longford, County Longford in Ireland, to replace the wooden ones burned in a fire at Christmas 2009.
The Cathedral was badly damaged but the beautiful new sculptures are part of the resurrected Cathedral. (It is the local home Cathedral of Fr. Jim Leavy known to many of us in the Leeds Diocese).
Why show two Stations of the Cross at Easter tide?
13th Station
You may notice that in the 13th Station that the inscription is “Indeed this Man was the Son of God”. (Mk. 15:39.)
And if you look at the foot of the Cross, the Devil, depicted from one old tradition as a mouse, is rushing headlong into the trap!
Christ has overcome evil.
14th Station
In the 14th Station Jesus lies on what is portrayed as an altar, as the Eucharist.
Looking out of the door the Cross is growing green shoots: Life…The inscription: “Why seek you the living among the dead?” was the question the angel put to the women rushing to the Tomb.
The angel proclaims “Gloria”!
The word NIKA above the entrance to the Tomb means VICTORY and the Tomb is no longer dark but full of light.
When Fr. Jim Leavy showed me a book of these amazing sculptures they made an impression on me. The Lenten Practice of making the Stations of the Cross transitions to the Resurrection. Instead of having a 15th Station of the Resurrection, which increasingly occurs in modern Stations, we are visually made aware of Christ’s Resurrection in signs and scripture. Christ rises from the dead, the Cross is transformed to a source of life and we are given the Eucharist.
As an older person who has lived through many Lents and Easters, like many of us, I am aware of the cyclical nature of life and death, death and life. There are many struggles, pain and disappointments but also hope, happiness and life.
After the dark comes the dawn…After Lent comes Easter…
Lent is the time when we engage in a period of reflection, repentance, and spiritual renewal in preparation for Easter.
Central to this observance is prayer, which serve as a means of deepening one’s connection with God, seeking forgiveness for shortcomings, and strengthening faith.
Through prayer, we seek to emulate Christ’s forty days of fasting and prayer in the desert, drawing closer to God and embracing a spirit of self-discipline and humility. Lenten prayers are an integral part of the Catholic journey during this sacred season, guiding us toward spiritual growth, transformation, and a deeper understanding of God’s love and mercy.
In this particular Lent, we share the anguish of Jesus in the desert as we view the state of the current world today, its conflicts, anger and hatred, all the antithesis of the message of Christ. We unite our challenges, our ailments and our sufferings with the torment of Jesus over the state of the Earth to help us prepare for Holy Week, the chance of forgiveness, redemption and renewal for us and humanity.
Here are three prayers for Lent. See also our Lent resources page for further reflection and prayers.
The desert waits (an invitation to Lent)
The desert waits, ready for those who come, who come obedient to the Spirit’s leading; or who are driven, because they will not come the other way.
The desert always waits, ready to let us know who we are- the place of self-discovery.
And whilst we fear and rightly, the loneliness and emptiness and harshness, we forget the angels, whom we cannot see because of our blindness, but who come when God decides. that we need their help; when we are ready for what they can give us
Amen.
Ruth Burgess from ‘Eggs and Ashes’ (1990)
The Beatitudes (inspired by Matthew 5:3-12)
Blessed are the poor… not the penniless but those whose heart is free.
Blessed are those who mourn… not those who whimper but those who raise their voices.
Blessed are the meek… not the soft but those who are patient and tolerant.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice… not those who whine but those who struggle.
Blessed are the merciful… not those who forget but those who forgive.
Blessed are the pure in heart…. not those who act like angels but those whose life is transparent.
Blessed are the peacemakers not those who shun conflict but those who face it squarely.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for justice… Not because they suffer But because they love.
Amen.
P. Jacob in ‘Bread for Tomorrow’.
Cafod Lent Prayer 2024
Loving God, when our boat is rocked on the sea of life, by poverty, illness or disaster, you quiet the waves, calm the storm, and lead us safely to shore.
When we work hard, for our daily bread, but at the end of the day go hungry, you walk alongside us, calling, “cast out your nets”, knowing there is enough for all.
When we are lost, and uncertain of how to make a change in our world, your words ring out: “Come, follow me”, guiding us to new life with you.
Lead us then, Lord, to play our part in calming the storm and sharing your gifts with each other, so that all people throughout the world may look to the future with hope.
If you would like to discuss how Growing Old Grace-fully might help support older people in your parish then please visit our contact page here and get in touch.
