For the Elderly

How can the elderly take action?

You are a wonderful, vital part of the Body of Christ, and the Lord wants to work through you for the salvation of souls. You just have to hear how the Lord is asking you to allow Him to do that under these circumstances. The following list is not meant to be exhaustive. The Lord is more creative than we are, and He knows you and knows His plan for you. These are just meant to spur your thought and prayer as you ask Him to work through you.

Some ideas:

• Pray
  • start or join a prayer chain
  • join the Diocesan Intercessory Prayer Group (an email group that can be joined by emailing Seth Wright at swright@dioceseofpueblo.org)
  • pray and offer your sufferings for the world and for people to get closer to God during this time
  • pray and offer your sufferings for those who are ill with the COVID-19 virus
  • pray and offer your suffering for those who have died from the COVID-19 virus
  • pray and offer your sufferings for Bishop Berg and our priests and deacons that they will be able to minister to the people in the best possible way
  • pray and offer your sufferings for the people of the diocese who are separated from the sacraments at this time
  • pray and offer your sufferings for the people of the diocese (clergy, religious, and laity) to come out of this time of trial and testing more closely united to Jesus, true missionary disciples bearing our Savior to all those they meet
• Join in the prayer of the Church
  • join Mass live on the internet or on EWTN (if you don’t know how to watch it on the internet, reach out to someone you know or to your local parish and ask them to help you learn how) – Click here for a list of and links to livestreamed Masses in our diocese.
  • pray the Liturgy of the Hours either from a breviary or online – Click here for some resources for praying it online.
  • join devotions such as Stations of the Cross live on the internet or pray them on your own – Click here for a list of and links to livestreamed devotions in our diocese.
• Reach out
  • call your friends from church to check on them and to pray with them
  • ask the parish to get you a list of parishioners that you can call and check on and pray with
  • if circumstances allow, check on your neighbors and talk with them (from safe distances)
• Take care of yourself because we love you
  • if you need help, let your local parish know

How can others help the elderly?

• Volunteer to pick up groceries and pharmacy items for those who are quarantined.  Simply gather them up and drop them on the doorstep, calling to let the person know the items are there.
• Get on a phone tree!  Isolation is a result of this virus, and you can combat it head on by calling and having a conversation with someone in quarantine.
• Hand carry flyers or Parish Bulletins to those with no social media or internet access.  This helps keep them connected and aware of our prayerful (and active!) support.
• Ask them for prayers. That is a powerful way they can contribute to the rest of the Body of Christ and the world.

Click here for more ideas on practical actions you can take to help.