Sunday, September 8th, is Grandparents Day!
Central to our understanding of who Jesus Christ is believing that he is true God and truly human. St Paul tells us that:
6 though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8 he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death —
even death on a cross.
Jesus is fully human and as any human being, he is understood in terms of his relationships. He had parents, neighbors, friends and grandparents—Joachim and Anne.
The Meeting of Joachim and Anne outside the Golden Gate of Jerusalem
Grandparents have a special role in the family. Pope Francis says: “Grandparents are the firm foundation of the future.”
They are the people who hold the family stories, the family wisdom. They are those who have lived the family history as no one else has. They are the people whose task is to connect the new generation with their origins.
Grandparents have a special relationship with a grandchild. Often, they are the encouragers, those who inspire. They are the rooting section for their grandchild. Grandparents often have the time, which parents do not, to spend with their grandchild.
All of these special qualities of the relationship between grandparents and grandchild were shared by Jesus.
Today, remember your own grandparents. They may have gone before us and now live in perfect union with God. As they were so concerned about us in life, so they remain concerned about us. They are some of our own family saints.
Father Steve Adrian
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