On Tuesday 22nd October, we held the 5th Growing Old Grace-fully online session of 2024, Spiritually Accompanying People with Dementia led by Rev. Dr. Joseph Cortis, co-author of Journeying Together: accompanying people living with dementia. Deacon Joe has a background in adult and mental health nursing which includes a long period as an educational manager, academic and senior lecturer at the University of Leeds. He is a Trustee of Growing Old Grace-fully and a Deacon of the Diocese of Leeds.
The session explored ways to provide spiritual support to individuals living with dementia as well as our own spiritual journey with them as a loved one. It includes prayers and reflections, as well as ideas as to accompany and support someone living with dementia from a spiritual perspective.
It was a very powerful session and we thank Deacon Joe for leading it.
Growing Old Grace-fully‘s 5th online event of 2024 is Spiritually Accompanying People Living With Dementia on Tuesday 22nd October, 7:00-8:00pm. This is part of the series of online events How to be more Later Life Friendly in our parishes.
The Zoom event, looking at the theological significance of dementia, is led by Rev. Dr. Joseph Cortis, co-author of Journeying Together: accompanying people living with dementia. Deacon Joe has a background in adult and mental health nursing which includes a long period as an educational manager, academic and senior lecturer at the University of Leeds. He is a Trustee of Growing Old Grace-fully.
Whether you are a spouse, family member, friend or caregiver, this event is designed to explore ways to provide spiritual support to individuals living with dementia as well as our own spiritual journey with them as a loved one.
The session will include prayers and reflections, as well as ideas as to accompany and support someone living with dementia from a spiritual perspective.
To attend, reserve a free ticket on Eventbrite here.
A Zoom link will be circulated to all ticket holders in advance of the event.
For those who would like to read it, the book, by Rev. Dr. Joe Cortis & Dr. Pia Matthews can be ordered here.
On Thursday 26th September, we held the 4th Growing Old Grace-fully online session of 2024,Hope in Later Lifeled by Paula Shanks and Father Donal Lucey.
It was a very powerful reflection and we thank Paula and Fr Donal for leading it.
Pope Francis established a World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly which took place for the first time on Sunday 25 July 2021.
In 2024, the celebration is this this Sunday, 28 July – the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, Grandparents of Jesus.
The theme chosen by Pope Francis for this year’s celebration is:
“Do not cast me off in my old age” (cf. Psalm 71:9).
As the Pope says, we should cherish the elderly and recognise that there’s no retirement age from the work of proclaiming the Gospel and handing down traditions to grandchildren.
Also here are prayers and links from the Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales to help you celebrate the day.
If you are a grandparent and are able to attend Mass, you could invite your grandchildren to attend with you.
The Catholic Grandparents Association has been at the forefront in campaigning for a greater recognition of Grandparents for their role and vocation in passing on their faith to the next generation. They have also produced resources that you might wish to use.
Prayer for Grandparents’ Day
(Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales)
We pray for grandparents; keep them and make them courageous, wise and caring.
We pray for the elderly who feel isolated at this time, so that they know they are never alone, as you continue to be with them.
We pray for all who are ill, that they may experience your healing power and grace.We pray for those who have died, that they are taken into your loving care and into their eternal resting home.
Let us say the prayer that Jesus taught us and what we heard in our Gospel: Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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.
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.
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
In his message for Lent 2024, Pope Francis invites the faithful to “pause” for prayer and to assist our brothers and sisters in need, in order to change our own lives and the lives of our communities.
CAFOD have a range of Lent resources including prayers, reflections and an interactive calendar. Sign up to the calendar and receive daily Lent emails of prayer, reflection and practical actions, offering an opportunity to pause, reflect and pray as we prepare for Easter.
Independent Catholic News have published a series of resources for Lent 2024, from books, to apps, online series, email reflections and activities to choose from – listed in alphabetical order.
As we reach the end of Advent, we celebrate the joyous feast of Christmas.
It is a moment when we contemplate the mystery of the Incarnation, the divine becoming human, and the immense love of God manifest in the humblest of forms. In the midst of the festive decorations and the warmth of our gatherings, let us take a moment to turn our hearts toward prayer, seeking to deepen our understanding of the profound significance of this holy season.
As we pray during this Christmas season, let us ponder the miracle of the Nativity, where heaven touched earth in the form of a tiny child born in a humble manger. Christmas is a celebration of hope, peace, and love, encapsulated in the gift of God’s Son to humanity.
At this challenging time in human history and facing the challenges of our own lives, we celebrate that the darkness is pierced with the greatest light to shine for all humanity. The words of the angel to the shepherds echo through time, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10).
In our prayers, let us express gratitude for the light that Jesus brought into the world—a light that dispels darkness and offers us the path to eternal life. May we find inspiration in the Holy Family, reflecting on the obedience of Mary, the courage of Joseph, and the vulnerability of the newborn King. As we exchange Christmas greetings, perhaps give and receive gifts and share meals with loved ones, let our prayers extend to those who are lonely, marginalised, or suffering, echoing the compassionate spirit of Christ.
This Christmas, may our hearts be filled with the true meaning of the season, and may our prayers unite us in a sense of shared joy and purpose. Let us open our hearts to receive the abundant blessings that flow from the manger in Bethlehem, embracing the transformative power of God’s love and mercy. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we offer these prayers, entrusting ourselves to the grace of the Christ Child born on this holy night.
Growing Old Grace-fully, Christmas 2023
Here are three Christmas prayers:
God of Joy
Remind me to rejoice Wrapped up in my Christmas gifts Tied down in my debts I have forgotten
God of peace, Remind me of your calm In my anxiety And in my haste I have forgotten
God of all Remind me Of the true light of Christmas Of your gift shared
In my own wants And in my own needs I have forgotten Wrapped up in my little world Remind me of your world God of joy, remind me To rejoice
Amen.
Linda Jones/CAFOD
Unadorned King
In the star we see the cross; Its points, the thorns, The azure ring, his robe. The light which shines on all The arms which embrace all.
And this despite their mockery, Mock majesty, pageant pantomime and pomp. All human conceptions of kingship Border on the Vaudeville Verge on the burlesque.
Kings in a stable out of proportion Distorted, like the body on the cross. Our attempt to nail down Divinity Racked and disjointed, Still suffering our mock homage.
Cast crowns, cast lots, cast off your Tawdry kind of kingship – So much dressing up – Christ rides triumphant over cast-down cloaks Every inch a king with none of the apparel.
His crown, the star The cross, his throne where he Invests the cosmos with his gift of Love, unadorned.
Amen.
Sr Laurentia Johns OSB, Stanbrook Abbey
The Hope of Christmas
The hope of Christmas God, our dayspring and our dawn, We turn to you when we fear the dark And all around us weep. We pray you greet us with your shining light That we may spread your warm embrace And kindle the hope of Christmas In all whose lives remain in shadow. Come and be our strength O Lord, our hope and our salvation.
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.
