As I celebrate the miracle of birth of my precious granddaughter Charlotte, I think of the very special bond of grandparenthood. Pope Francis has declared July 24th as World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly for the Universal Church. Pope Francis chose the theme “In old age, they will still bear fruit.” (Ps 92:15)
The song What a Wonderful World opens beautiful thoughts of how filled with wisdom and Grace grandparents can be to share their knowledge and unlock the special bond between them and their grandchildren. We love being able to hug, snuggle, spoil (in a good way) and pamper our Grands, but there is so much more. You share family traditions that have been handed down through your own grandparents or create new ones. We need to evangelize and teach them the importance of God in their lives. We know that in some cases families have slipped away from attending church. What a good opportunity to instill the practice, by bringing the Grands with us on Sunday. Do you begin the evening meal with prayer? Let’s teach our children how to pray, either as they wake up in the morning, by sharing “thank you God for bringing me to this day. Keep those I love safe, and help me to be the best person I can.” And as Blessed Solanus Casey says ”Thank God ahead of time.”
Think of the wonderful memories we have of our own grandparents. Perhaps it was fishing on a lazy hazy summer day, a story that was read over and over, the smell of Grandma’s yummy cookies. How do we want to be remembered by your grandchildren? Is it that grandma or grandpa, or whatever name you are known as always had time for me, listened, and left me with a hug?