The Catholic Church celebrates today the 4th World Grandparents’ and Seniors’ Day. It was established by Pope Francis and takes place around the liturgical commemoration of St. Anne and St. Joachim – grandparents of Jesus Christ. This year’s motto is “Do not abandon me in my old age”. The Marian sanctuary in Licheń Stary also joined in the celebrations of this special day. In Licheń, the event was accompanied by the words: “Because I have one life…”. On this occasion, at 12:00 during Sunday high mass, prayers were said for seniors.
The joint celebration began with a rosary prayer at 11:15 before the miraculous painting of Our Lady of Licheń for the children and grandchildren. The prayer was led by Fr. Sławomir Homoncik MIC, the custodian of the sanctuary, and the individual mysteries were recited by the ladies from the senior club in Dobra.
In his homily during the noon Eucharist, Fr. Homoncik pointed out that the message from today’s Gospel concerns the image of the Lord God, which, according to many people, is inaccessible to ordinary people.
– We often have problems building a relationship with the Lord God. Because of this, it seems to us that He is inaccessible to us. But the truth is that the Lord God is close to each of us. He is also in this community. He walks between the rows of pews and listens to our hearts. He rejoices in every impulse of our hearts, every thought turned to Him – said the Marian.
Addressing seniors and the elderly, the priest custodian referred to today’s reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, in which the Apostle to the Nations spoke about the vocation of each of us. – We have different vocations. Being a grandmother, a grandfather is also a vocation. Experiencing your old age is also a gift from the Lord God. He notices the simplicity of the heart. Let us think about what we brought to Jesus today and offer it to Him. Or maybe we offer ourselves, our lives. Do we have such courage? – asked the homilist.
Before the end of the Mass, the custodian priest read a prayer of blessing over the seniors, and then the priests gave the elderly an individual blessing by laying on their hands.
From the basilica, the seniors followed the Wind Orchestra of the Municipal and Communal Cultural Centre in Ślesin to the square in front of the so-called new belfry. The band, conducted by Adam Kołodziejczak, prepared a short concert. During the musical animations led by the host, Michał Piekarski, the participants danced, among others, the polonaise and the waltz. The slogan of this part of the meeting was the words: “Together and joyfully”. A group photo was taken, and the ladies from the Seniorplus Club in Dobra sang for the gathered. The event was accompanied by the Cake Festival, for which the ladies from the local Rural Women’s Circles prepared baked goods. The donations from the sale of these baked goods were entirely allocated to the collection for the St. Father Stanisław Papczyński Hospice operating in the Licheń sanctuary.
During the meeting, the seniors received a small gift in the form of a book by a Marian priest, Father Marian Pisarzak, entitled “Pod Wieczor życia”, who happily gave autographs.
The Licheń celebrations of the 4th World Grandparents and Older Persons Day were attended by senior clubs from: Dobra, Kazimierz Biskupi, Posada Wilczyn, Kramsko, Licheń Stary, Kleczew, Golina, Ślesin, Szyszyńskie Holendrów, Grodziec and Spław.
The mayor of the town and commune of Ślesin, Mr. Piotr Maciejewski, and his wife also took part in the ceremony.
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