Today we celebrate the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne who were the grandparents of Jesus. Yes, Jesus had grandparents too! These were the parents of Mary. Today we remember all our grandparents both living and deceased, that God blesses them and gives them good rest. There is actually a global Catholic Grandparents’ Association with proposed activities and prayers that they can use in fulfilling their role as ‘grandpa’ and ‘grandma.’
The Value of our Elders
In different cultures of the world, grandparents live in the same house with everyone else so that they can pass on the wisdom of a culture to their grandchildren. They teach the grandchildren how to cook certain traditional foods, they share stories on family history, they teach the grandchildren cultural values, they teach them about how to manage relationships, they support them to grow physically and to grow in knowledge and wisdom. Commercial chain restaurants have learned the value of grandparents that even when their food is mass produced, they still make claims their food is as good as “what your grandmother used to cook for you!”
In Celebration of Grandparents
Pope Francis inaugurated 26th July the Feast of Saint Joachim and Anne, as World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. This was in response to what was happening to many grandparents and the elderly. Many felt lonely and not needed, their children rarely visited, and they only saw their grandchildren at family events such as weddings or funerals. The Pope reminded the world that grandparents are valuable particularly in the important role of passing on the faith to future generations. They can do that through the witness of their lives, through an active ministry such as volunteering in faith formation at a parish, or even taking time to teach children basic prayers. Both my parents are now deceased but if there is one big thing among many that I really appreciated about them, it was their teaching of prayer to my nephews and nieces. The kids could lead any prayers, whether at meals or morning and evening prayers. Long before the grandchildren made it to faith formation at the Church, they knew almost every prayer they needed to know at their age-level.
Perpetual Work
Pope Francis told grandparents that “There is no retirement age from the work of proclaiming the Gospel and handing down traditions to your grandchildren.” Besides paying for mission trips, youth retreats, visiting, or being present in some way, grandparents can witness to the faith in a variety of ways: they can openly speak about their faith to their grandchildren especially about how God has worked in their lives. Children love stories! They can regularly attend Mass and adoration, they can offer to take their grandchildren to Mass, faith formation, confession or vacation Bible school. There are different ways grandparents can contribute to the faith of their grandchildren.
I have said this before, and I will repeat it again – a bishop who spoke to us as young people challenged us “not to let the die in your hands.” In other words, each one of us has a sacred duty to pass on the faith to the next generation.
Today as we celebrate Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus, let us challenge ourselves on how best and in which ways, we can contribute to the passing on of the faith to the next generation. You don’t need to be a biological grandparent to do that; you simply need to be interested in helping young children. May God bless all grandparents both biological and non-biological grandparents, on this Memorial of Jesus’ grandparents!
- Father David's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and Rosary) at the 30-minute mark on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
- To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Consider inviting others to join too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
