Homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly
Readings: Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13
27 July 2025
In today’s gospel from Luke, Jesus elaborates on what it means to pray to God in the all too familiar words of the Our Father: “give us each day our daily bread…and do not put us to the test”. Jesus asks two rhetorical questions: “What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?” He answers: “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
Listen at https://soundcloud.com/frank-brennan-6/homily-27-7-25
During the week, we heard the testimony of an extraordinary parent, Ali France, who is now a member of parliament, having defeated Peter Dutton, the Leader of the Opposition third time round. Her gracious persistence and unbounded generosity impressed everyone in the parliament, no matter what their party affiliation. Ali’s life changed forever when she threw herself in front of an out-of-control car to save her little boy Zac. She lost her leg. Describing her climb up the mountain of recovery all the way to the Australian parliament, she said: “It took seven years to climb as a single mum with one leg, battling one of the most prolific politicians of our time”.[1] A year before her last and successful tilt at the seat in parliament, she lost her older son Henry to leukaemia. Zac was there in the parliament to see his mum deliver her first speech. She said: “Zac, I hope I have shown you what is possible even when the universe gives you grief”. She told the parliament: “Kindness, a helping hand, opportunity and open doors have got me here, and that’s what I will be giving to the people” of my electorate.[2]
“Give us each day our daily bread…and do not put us to the test.” When the universe is giving us grief, we can pray to the Father in the words that Jesus gave us. When put to the test we can give thanks for “kindness, a helping hand, opportunity and open doors”. In this year of the Jubilee of Hope, we are reminded of those words of the prophet Sirach: “Blessed are those who have not lost hope”. (Sir 14:2)
Five years ago, Pope Francis, who always had an eye to popular piety, instituted a new Sunday celebration: World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. It was set down for the Sunday closest to the feast of Sts Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary, and therefore the grandparents of Jesus. Their feast fell yesterday so today we celebrate the fifth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. In his message for this day, Pope Leo says: “How often our grandparents have been for us examples of faith and devotion, civic virtue and social commitment, memory and perseverance amid trials! The precious legacy that they have handed down to us with hope and love will always be a source of gratitude and a summons to perseverance.”[3]
Nowadays, especially with single parent families and families with both parents full time in the paid workforce, grandparents are on hand at all hours of the day, performing all manner of parental duties. Today we give thanks for those grandparents who perform what were previously and exclusively parental duties for earlier generations. And with increased life expectancy, we give thanks that children can expect to have longer, more sustained relationships with grandparents.
Though not a grandparent, I became a great uncle for the 32nd time last week. I have some sense of the grace and blessing that a new grandchild can be and can bring. Taking up the theme in Sirach , “Blessed are those who have not lost hope”, let’s pray the prayer formulated for today’s celebration by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life:
How beautiful are these words of yours, Lord!
Help us to continue our pilgrimage through time,
animated by the hope that comes from You!
Help us in this divisive world,
to bring the hope of communion.
Help us in this world, wounded by wars,
to bring the hope of peace.
Help us in this world, which is dehumanizing,
to bring the beauty of an ancient smile.
Help us to be, for our grandchildren,
for our loved ones
and for everyone we meet,
the memory of your tenderness.
Help us to bring,
in a world distracted from You,
the Hope of a new life that only You can give!
For in You, Lord, nothing is lost
For in You, Lord, everything begins again!
Amen.[4]
Blessings and good wishes to all the grandparents this Sunday. And to the grandchildren, be sure to offer your grandparents a smile or more this day.
Fr Frank Brennan SJ is serving as part of a Jesuit team of priests working within a new configuration of the Toowong, St Lucia and Indooroopilly parishes in the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Frank Brennan SJ is Adjunct Professor of the Thomas More Law School at ACU and is a former CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA). Fr Frank’s latest book is An Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Considering a Constitutional Bridge, Garratt Publishing, 2023 and his new book is ‘Lessons from Our Failure to Build a Constitutional Bridge in the 2023 Referendum’ (Connor Court, 2024).
[1] Hansard, House of Representatives, 22 July 2025, p.27.
[2] Ibid, p.30.
[3] See https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/messages/grandparents/documents/20250626-messaggio-nonni-anziani.html
[4] See https://www.laityfamilylife.va/content/laityfamilylife/en/eventi/2025/fifth-world-day-for-granparents-and-the-elderly.html
