Into the Deep

“I Will Never Forget You”

 

   When was the last time you were at a nursing home, memory-care facility, hospice, or similar place? Many of us visit these places more or less frequently for pastoral reasons, to see loved ones, or for other motives. Many of these facilities are particularly well-maintained and have plenty of staff and activities for the residents. Others, perhaps not so much. But in any case, when we go to visit someone and see some of the other residents, often sitting alone in a corner of the common area, we may find ourselves wondering: “Does anyone visit these other people?” Loneliness and neglect by dear ones are real risks in places that care for our elderly, and not just in these places, but also in the own homes. An old study (1974) from the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare found that up to 11% of nursing homes residents wouldn’t receive visitors ever, and a more recent study published in the National Library of Medicine titled “Resident contact with family and friends following nursing home admission” (2001) stated that contact with family and friends fell by approximately half compared with the period before admission. And maybe those numbers are getting worse in this complicated world.

   This reality, and the experience of loneliness, in general, faced by many of our elders in the modern world, makes the Holy Father’s theme and message for World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly particularly relevant today: “I will never forget you (Is 49:15)” For the Universal Church, this day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in July, which always falls close to the feast day of St. Joachim and St. Anne (July 26), the parents of the Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus Christ. In the United States, the Church joins civil society in celebrating National Grandparents Day on the Sunday after Labor Day (this Sunday). What were, then, the main points of the papal document for this year?

   Pope Leo XIV reflected on God’s promise through the prophet Isaiah: “I will never forget you” (Is 49:15). In a world where many people, especially the elderly, experience loneliness and feel overlooked, these words proclaim God’s unfailing love and personal care. Let’s remind the immediate passage of this quote, a conversation between God and his people:

“Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;

my Lord has forgotten me.”

Can a mother forget her infant,

be without tenderness for the child of her womb?

Even should she forget,

I will never forget you.

See, upon the palms of my hands I have engraved you;

your walls are ever before me.” (Is 49:14-16)

   In today’s context, the Holy Father noted that older people can easily be reduced to a room number, a medical condition, or a perceived burden. Some live alone; others are separated from their families by migration, economic hardship, or war. Against this anonymity, the Church announces that every person remains precious and remembered by God. The Church is called to be a mother to all, welcoming people at every age as beloved sons and daughters. The Pope particularly was encouraging young people and families to renew the practice of visiting grandparents and elderly neighbors, including those who have no one to visit them. In an age of rapid communication and digital connection, genuine human closeness remains essential. A visit, a listening ear, a kind word, or a gentle touch can make God’s promise tangible: “I will never forget you.”

   But there is a task for our grandparents and elderly too. The Pope also reminded older adults that it is never too late to begin or deepen a relationship with God. Even in old age, we never cease to be God’s children. Times of weakness and questions about life’s meaning can become an opportunity to discover God’s tenderness and to turn to him with renewed trust. Fragility is not something to fear or hide; it can open our hearts to mutual care, humility, reconciliation, and peace. And, finally, in light of war and social unrest, Pope Leo was asking grandparents and the elderly to pray especially for peace and for the world their grandchildren would inherit. He expressed gratitude for their prayers, particularly the Rosary, and entrusted everyone to God, who continually renews us in faith, hope, and love, and who never forgets us.

   Happy Grandparents Day!

Previous Letters:

September 6, 2026: Mercy That Excludes
August 30, 2026: Thirst and Fire
August 23,2026: Delegation
August 16, 2026: Great is Your Faith
August 9, 2026: Why Did You Doubt?
August 2, 2026: Grace
July 26, 2026: Treasures
July 19, 2026: Weeds and the Problem of Evil
July 12, 2026: The Soil
July 5, 2026: We Hold These Truths
June 28, 2026: Eyesight
June 21, 2026: Provider
June 14, 2026: Ordinary
June 7, 2026: Salvation Has Come to This House
May 31, 2026: Why Three?
May 24, 2026: Fruits
May 17, 2026: For Greater Glory
May 10, 2026: Orphans?
May 3, 2026: A Good Shepherd II
April 26, 2026: A Good Shepherd
April, 19, 2026: Necessary
April 12, 2026: Merciful Patience!
April 5, 2026: Breaking News!
March 29, 2026: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
March 22, 2026: Lord of the Dead and the Living
March 15, 2026: Light and Darkness
March 8, 2026: Thirst and Desire
March 1, 2026: Transfigured
February 22, 2026: The Law of Freedom
February 15, 2026: In Defense of Marriage
February 8, 2026: Salt and Light
February 1, 2026: Poor Who Enrich
January 25, 2026: Catholic School Education
January 18, 2026: Humbled and Exalted
January 11, 2026: Born and Reborn
January 4, 2026: What’s the Price of a Mass?
December 28, 2025: Families Serving Families
December 21, 2025: Decisions
December 14, 2025: Make Firm
December 7, 2025: Hope and Justice
November 30, 2025: Armor of Light
November 23, 2025: Behold Your King
November 16, 2025: Remember Your Dignity
November 9, 2025: St. Leo and the Cross of Christ
November 2, 2025; Dying in Christ
October 26, 2025: Forgive Us
October 19, 2025: Pray For Us
October 12, 2025: Pillar of Faith
October, 5, 2025: Compendium of the Gospel
September 28, 2025: Failed to Do
September 21, 2025: An Enemy Did This
September 14, 2025: In Hoc Signo
September 7, 2025: My Son Carlo
August 31, 2025: Humility?
August 24, 2025: How Difficult?
August 17, 2025: Politically Incorrect
August 10, 2025: Got Faith?
August 3, 2025: Greed
July 27, 2025: Ask and You Shall Receive
July 20, 2025: The Better Part
July 13, 2025: Who is the Samaritan
July 6, 2025: Joy and Spoons
June 29, 2025: In Fire
June 22, 2025: A Beating Heart in the Tabernacle
June 15, 2025: The Mirror
June 8, 2025: Filled With the Holy Spirit
June 1, 2025: He Loved Us
May 25, 2025: Servant of Your Faith and Joy
May 18, 2025: Leo
May 11, 2025: The Deposit of Faith
May 4, 2025: Costly Mercy
April 27, 2025: Who is Peter?
April 20, 2025: I Make All Things New – Arise!
April 13, 2025: I Make All Things New – To Do My Penance
April 6, 2025: I Make All Things New – I Declared My Sin to You
March 30, 2025: I Make All Things New – I Firmly Resolve
March 23 2025: I Make All Things New –  I am Sorry for Offending You
March 16, 2025: I Make All Things New –  Examining Your Conscience
March 9, 2025: I Make All Things New
March 2, 2025: Pruning
February 23, 2025: The Anointed of the Lord
February 16, 2025: Be My Valentine
February 9, 2025: Wash Away My Guilt II
February 2, 2025: Wash Away My Guilt I
January 26, 2025: Catholic Education
January 19, 2025: Shall Marry You
January 12, 2025: Called by Name
January 5, 2025: Pilgrims of Hope
December 29, 2024: Priests for the Family
December 22, 2024: Messengers of Joy
December 15, 2024: Blessed Are the Poor
December 8, 2024: Love, Hope and Joy
December 1, 2024: Hope Does Not Disappoint
November 24, 2024: Are You King?
November 17, 2024: Seven Words
November 10, 2024: Tu es Petrus
November 3, 2024: Pray For Those Authority
October 27, 2024: These Are the Feasts
October 20, 2024: Someone Else
October 13, 2024: Be Prudent
October 6, 2024: Project and Dreams II
September 29, 2024: Projects and Dreams I
September 22, 2024: Pastor
September 15, 2024: Take Up Your Cross
September 8, 2024: Guardians of Shared Memory
September 1, 2024: From Their Hearts
August 25, 2024: The Cost of Discipleship
August 18, 2024: For Real?
August 11, 2024: Too Long For You
August 4, 2024: A New Manna
July 28, 2024: Bread of Life
July 21, 2024: Shepherds After My Own Heart
July 14, 2024: Woe to Me…
July 7, 2024: Come and Rest (II)
June 30, 2024: Come and Rest (I)
June 23, 2024: Storms
June 16, 2024: I Will be a Father to You
June 9, 2024: Burning Furnace of Love
June 2, 2024: In the Midst of Him
May 26, 2024: Forever I Will Sing the Goodness of the Lord
May 19, 2024: Through the Holy Spirit
May 12, 2024: The Ark of the Covenant
May 5, 2024: Source and Summit
April 28, 2024: Rejoice Always
April 21, 2024: I Believe in the resurrection of the body Part II
April 14, 2024: I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body Part 1
April 7, 2024: Rich in Mercy
March 31, 2024: Sine Dominico Non Possumus About Sunday
February 11, 2024: I Was Ill and You Cared For Me
February 4, 2024: Why Evil?
January 28, 2024: Catholic Schools Week
January 21, 2024: Attachments
January 14, 2024: The LORD Shines
January 7, 2024: Epiphany 2024
December 31, 2023: A Family of Families
December 25, 2023: New Beginnings
December 17, 2023: Christmas
December 3, 2023: Watch
November 26, 2023: Be Healed
November 19, 2023: Sealed
November 12, 2023: Religious?