Grandparents

Today is the feast of St’s Joachim and Anne. They are the parents of Mary the mother of Jesus. Therefore, they are the grandparents of Jesus.

Yesterday the Church celebrated grandparents day. Pope Francis called this day for very good reasons.

I remember all my grandparent’s and one great grandmother.

The grandparent to die first was my grandmother Maria Gauci, dad’s mother.

She died when I was five and a half years old in 1957.

Yet she had a profound influence on me. I remember her very clearly. I remember how she walked, spoke and many other experiences of her.

I spent a lot of time with her. She was my great protector from many a well-deserved punishment. She ‘spoilt me rotten‘!

She certainly gave me a great experience of ‘unconditional love‘!

Grandmama as I called her, took me to church with her. She went to mass every day. At three and a half years of age, I remember her giving me toffees during mass to keep me quiet. I had no doubt that the celebration was important because of how she participated even though Mass was in Latin in those days.

My other grandparents all had their influences on me in a very significant way.

In the Church, we all have the great privilege as well as the responsibility of passing on the faith to the next generations. We do so by example, storytelling, mentoring, good teaching.

Hopefully, we can share a love for the Mass, prayer and our lived story.