The Church-wide celebration of World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly July 25 is being called “the first fruits of the Amoris Laetitia Family Year” and “a gift to the whole Church that is destined to continue into the future.”
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life announced the new celebration June 22 and said “the pastoral care of the elderly is a priority that can no longer be postponed by any Christian community.”
To celebrate in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, parishes are encouraged to involve grandparents and seniors in local Masses July 25 by inviting them to read at Mass, bring up the gifts, or contribute or be celebrated in other ways.
The B.C. Catholic also invited readers to participate by sharing photos of their grandparents or elderly mentors on social media with the hashtag #IAmWithYouAlways or submit their photos and short written reflections. Here’s what some of them had to say.
Memories of Ito and Mamama
By Laura Levera
I was the first grandchild of the family and my grandma retired when I was born. She was a teacher at St. Luigi Guanella School in my home country, Paraguay. I think this is where my vocation for teaching came from. She also taught me how to pray the Rosary, took me to the cemetery on All Souls Day, brought the image of Mother Mary to our house for veneration, and invited the neighbours over to pray together.
Since we lived in a town far away from my school, I would spend weekdays at my grandparents’ (whom we call “Ito and Mamama”) to attend school, and then go home on weekends. My grandparents took care of me when I was sick with rubella and chicken pox and have been an important and memorable part of my life.
I was blessed to visit my grandparents in 2015 for the first time since moving to Canada. Shortly after that, my grandpa passed away but I was able to say my last goodbye. My grandma is now 92 years old and I pray that soon I will be able to fly home and visit her and the rest of my family again.
My Grammaca
By Hannah Dobie
I love my grandma, because she is sweet, fine, and so divine
She has that special something with design
When I see her, she tells me she loves me every single time
We bake in the kitchen, make memories of happiness
And don’t think of any kind of sadness
She likes to be very close to me
So I gave her the key
And asked her to be, just the way she is
She thinks I’m cute, talented, and maybe even wise
I know that’s why all grandparents see through loving eyes
Every day with her is precious,
I’m so grateful for the time.
Of all the grandparents in the world
I’m thankful that she is mine.
Hannah Dobie was 10 years old when she wrote this poem for grandma Ann Dobie. The family has given permission to reprint it here.
I hope I have Nona’s genes
By Anette Reyno
My maternal grandfather, Emilio Clozza, left the northern part of Italy in 1907 with his oldest son, Giacomo (Jack), and came to Canada to find a home for his family. After a short period of time my grandmother (Nona Angelina Clozza) left Italy with the remaining seven children to meet him and Jack. She did not speak English. She travelled by train to the port and then by boat across the Atlantic and then by train across Canada to Vancouver, B.C.
In 1912, the whole family settled in Powell River, where Nona had four more children for a total of 12. This is one amazing woman. My mother was her twelfth child and when my mother was 3 years old, my grandfather was killed in a forest fire in Comox. My grandmother became a widow with 12 children.
The family had to move back to Vancouver and lived in a big old house on Union Street. During very difficult times she was kind to men that arrived at the door asking for work or food. She assigned them a job like chopping wood or yard work and would give them a hardy meal. Her home was always open to anyone in need. I was eleven years old when she died, but I remember her well.
When my paternal grandfather, Joseph Braga, left Lake Como in Italy and came to Canada to find a new home for his family, he chose Dawson City, Yukon. (I am sure he felt there must be some gold left.) In 1925, my grandmother (Nona Anna Braga) left Italy and arrived in Canada with two sons, John and Joseph (my dad). There had been five children but three daughters died, we believe due to the Spanish flu. The death of her little girls was devastating to my Nona.
It was also quite a culture shock for her to move from sunny Italy to cold Dawson City, Yukon. She spoke very little English and I am sure life was difficult in this new, harsh land. After my grandfather died, my Nona came to live with us. I remember her baking, knitting, and going to Holy Mass with me. I was thirteen years old when she died, but she left many memories.
When I think I can’t do something, I think of these two women and what they accomplished and I am inspired. I hope I have some of their genes. There is so much more that could be said but I will end knowing I loved them and they loved me.
What makes a mentor?
By David Cummings
At a Men’s Retreat about five years ago, the leader at a breakout session spoke about need the for younger men to be mentored, discipled, by older men, men of faith. He called these men sages.
In prayer I told God I would be willing to try it, but would trust Him to bring me the men of His choosing. Our Heavenly Father did not disappoint. Presently I have a formal relationship with four men (three married with lots of children, and one single man) and an informal relationship with several others.
What makes a person a sage? What does a sage do?
A sage is a person of faith. The sage prays from his/her heart to Abba’s heart and listens for the heart of the Father. A sage is a saved sinner, and knows it. They are aware of some of their weaknesses and gifts.
They have experienced much of life - the blessings, the hardships, the joys and the sorrows - and are willing to be vulnerable with those they are mentoring. A sage is humble, ready to learn from those younger than themselves.
A sage stays close to God, by going to Mass on Sunday, sometimes during the week, and to confession regularly. A sage regularly reads the Scriptures, devotionals, meditations, and other spiritual reading, things that keep them close to God.
A sage is someone who walks the path, the journey to God with others too. A good spiritual director is a good idea, as is one or two anchors for the voyage. A sage knows full well that without Christ we can do nothing (see John 15:5).
All of the above is possible only by the grace of God. We must never forget that.
I pray that many, many men are willing to take the step of faith and lead younger men in the way of Christ. There you will find indescribable joy.
My grandparents taught me how to pray
By Mikayla, age 13
Grandparents provide families with love, advice, encouragement, and patience. They comfort us at difficult times in our lives, they act as role models, and they also teach skills and talents to family members.
Grandparents have big responsibilities to live out in their lives. First and foremost, they have to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. Younger generations watch them and learn from what they see. They have to be dignified, reverent, loving, sound in faith, and self-controlled. Things that they do will influence the actions of the younger generation.
As a child, when my family and I went out for lunch, I would see my grandparents do the sign of the cross and begin praying. They saw me look over at them and started teaching me different prayers. Grandparents have the power to encourage and nurture the relationship between Jesus and their grandchildren as well as their own children. I remember when I was younger, when we went out for lunch, we would always see who would remember to say grace first.
Furthermore, the word of God must be central to their lives. Grandparents help train and teach their grandchildren how to live lives that honour God. Thank you Elizabeth Tan and Joseph Tan for teaching me about my faith and fostering my relationship with God!
God sends grandparents for a reason
By Maddie, age 10
My grandparents are the best at giving advice for me. They talk to me, comfort me, and most of all, love me. They care for all of us and love us no matter what. Even when things are not going well, they comfort and reassure us.
My favorite memories with my grandparents are all our trips to different places. I really admire them and I look up to them as role models. They teach us good things and helps us to grow in our faith with God. God gave us the opportunity to learn from our elders. We have to think of if they won’t be there the next day. We have to cherish each memory with them. Every little memory we made together is the things in life we love the most.
My grandpa is very faithful and is very close to God. He teaches me about Jesus and I always ask him questions about Our Lord. My grandma is very thoughtful and she is caring and wise. I remember on one of our trips she had a talk with me about praying and how we have to talk to God like He is talking with us in a room, one on one. Both of them are very inspiring and very knowledgeable.
I know that God sends everyone and everything onto earth for a reason. He sent down my grandma so I can experience all the memories we share from singing songs about Jesus, to just having a lunch together. God sent my grandpa onto earth so I can learn more about Jesus, like how God created and everything about church. I am so thankful that God gave me both of them to share all my memories I have with them. They really have taught me how I should act and how to be closer to God.
Another of my memories I got from spending time with them was when I was at church two weeks ago, when my grandma asked me if I wanted to help her usher and greet the people coming into the church. I had a great time and I really love spending time with them. They are fun, loving, kind, awesome, faithful, and they teach me quite a lot of stuff! Thank you Elizabeth Tan, my grandma, and Joseph Tan, my grandpa, for teaching me all that I need to know about Jesus.
More blessings than I can count
By Krissy Litam
Growing up with my grandparents gave me more blessings than I can count. Now that I have children of my own, I am glad to be able to raise my kids alongside my mom and my parents-in-law, as it really does “take a village.” Not only do my kids get spoiled (mom rarely bought me fast food when I was a kid, ahem!), but they also learn firsthand the importance of family, respecting elders, and being considerate of others.
We live with my mother, and I am in constant awe of her boundless love and energy, which she shares with all of us: from cooking most of our meals, to spending time with our kids, to teaching them about our faith and patiently answering their every question. Her generosity, kindness, and faithfulness are already reflected in my children, even at their young age.
My mom sometimes laments that none of her grandkids look like her. I remind her that they have her heart, and that makes all the difference.
A favourable time
This is an excerpt of a homily Archbishop J. Michael Miller delivered at Mass in celebration of the Church’s first World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, July 25.
Sacred Scripture presents old age as a “favourable time,” because it brings life to its fulfillment, a time when everything comes together, enabling the elderly to attain what the Psalmist calls “wisdom of heart” (Ps 90:12) ... In the words of Pope Francis, “The Holy Spirit still stirs up thoughts and words of wisdom in the elderly [today]: their voice is precious because it sings the praises of God.” That’s “wisdom of heart.”
The older generation brings many gifts to the life of the community and the Church. They have a mission to fulfill and a great contribution to make. In truth, being of advanced years is no time just to kick back and rest (a little bit of that, maybe). On the contrary, it is a chance for a new mission. In today’s frenetic world, Pope Francis says young people and families, your families, need “the older generation’s prayers, wisdom and gifts to give them the encouragement, hope and faith they often lack.” And what are the gifts that the older generation brings?
Memory. The older generation are sometimes called “living encyclopedias” of the human and spiritual experiences of a family but also of a community. They ensure that, as St. John Paul II wrote in his 1999 Letter to the Elderly, the past is neither denied nor forgotten in the name of a modernity without any memory. When the young lose a sense of history of their family, of their community, the result is often a tragic loss in their sense of identity. We build on and live from the past.
Interdependence. Secondly, the signs of human frailty in mind and body that often accompany advanced years summon us all to a deeper sense of mutual dependence and solidarity with the younger generation, both in our families and in our parish communities. Our society’s over-emphasis on individualism – on the overriding importance of the “me” – obscures the truth, in John Donne’s words, that “no man is an island.”
Prayer. And thirdly, perhaps the greatest gift of our seniors is their prayerfulness. With his typical colorful way of speaking, the Holy Father has said: “We need old people who pray because this is the very purpose of old age” – perhaps a small exaggeration, but he makes the point. We know that religious practice occupies a key place in the life of older people, a fact that is easily confirmed when we look at their Mass attendance and engagement in parish ministries in our own communities. They can be so because many of the distractions of work and of raising a family have decreased. Not always, but very often. More time is in fact available for quiet. And that opens new opportunities for prayer. Nor should we forget that the suffering of many in advanced old age is also a great prayer that has enormous value – unspoken, unarticulated, irreplaceable – for the good of the Church and the world.
Have a story to share about your grandparents or elderly mentors? Send your 100-300 word submission and photo to [email protected]. Happy World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly on July 25!