Grandparents of the World Unite!

One of the cherished memories of my childhood was going to church to pray the novena to St. Anne in preparation for the Feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim on July 26.

Each evening my family and neighbors would march off to kneel before the statue of St. Anne in our parish church and to lay petitions at her feet. Our parish priest would lead us in the beautifully poetic novena prayers that named St. Anne “Mother of the Mother of the Incarnate Word…Glorious and Holy Queen…Grandmother of Jesus.”

We sang hymns in her honor that expressed the joy and confidence of knowing her intercession: “To kneel at thine altar in faith we draw near, led onward by Mary, thy daughter so dear…” and “Blessed Anne, Judah’s glory, thru’ the Church from East to West, ev’ry tongue proclaims thy glory, Holy Mary’s Mother blest.” The whole novena experience spoke of our connection to a holy woman from the past whose wisdom and love were so great that, in God’s plan, she was present to us and taught us the way to go through life.
           
Our Holy Father Pope Francis speaks eloquently of this reality when he tells us to honor and venerate grandparents and the elderly. This year the Holy Father’s theme for this day is taken from Psalm 92:14, “In old age they will still bear fruit.”

If we listen to grandparents and the elderly in our society, we will find that this theme rings so very true. They become for us, as St. Anne herself is often described, “the bridge between the Old Law and the New Testament.” The seniors in our midst are bridges who bring us the wisdom of our forebears so that we may apply it to our new and often challenging times. Their wisdom is not only from 50 or 60 years ago. Rather, they hand on to us the collective faith and wisdom of all the generations who have lived in the grace of God.
           
From the first centuries of the Church, St. Anne was known and loved for her part in bringing salvation into the world and for her own holiness. She was honored for being the mother of the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Jesus without losing her virginity. The Eastern Church venerated St. Anne from the beginning, showing her great honor. Devotion to St. Anne later spread to the Church in the West.
 
The earliest surviving western depictions of St. Anne are 8th-century frescoes in the Church of Santa Maria Antigua, within the Roman Forum. Her presence in the Church as the grandmother of Our Lord is a link, a bond of continuity between the living past and the dynamic present.
           
When we think of our own grandparents and other elders that we have known, they are also living links. Their vibrant memories and bonds of love tell us that our generation does not stand alone. Our lives and our destiny are part of a greater plan, God’s own design of love, mercy and salvation that He offers to us.
           
Pope Francis is so very wise in teaching us that the memory of the Church is powerfully embodied in our grandparents and in the elderly members of our families and society. They are often selfless and dedicated evangelizers who communicate the Catholic Faith to their grandchildren and other younger members of the Church.  They did so heroically during times of totalitarian regimes and communist persecutions – as others continue to do today.  They passed on the Catholic faith to their grandchildren, bringing them to Mass and the sacraments at great personal risk, due to their unfailing conviction that God was with them.

I learned my catechism and prayers for First Holy Communion at the knees of my maternal grandfather, who lived with us. I can imagine that Jesus sat at the knees of Sts. Anne and Joachim as they witnessed to the love and truth of God in their life.  I can see Jesus at the knees of His grandparents rejoicing in their holiness and unshakable faith in His Heavenly Father.

Saints Anne and Joachim, pray for us!

Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh