A Letter From Bishop Michael Kennedy
Grandparents are of unique importance in family life
generally and particularly in the transmission of faith
through the generations. They provide children with a
stability and sense of identity and continuity. We are
delighted to offer you this resource to assist you in
supporting the grandparent figures in your wider school
community. It comes with the desire of the Bishops of
Australia to see every family flourish as an effective
community of Christ’s love.
With every blessing,
Bishop Michael Kennedy
Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life
Sts. Joachim and Anne
Joachim and Anne were greatly
honoured by God who gave them a
daughter conceived without sin who was
to become known as the Mother of God!
It would seem that they performed their
parenting responsibilities with great
grace. Their feast day on July 26 is a day
to honour them and all grandparents for
their contribution to our lives.
News Flash: Pope Blesses Grandparents
Vatican City, Jul 26, 2009
Following the Angelus, Pope Benedict spoke about
today’s feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the
Blessed Virgin Mary and grandparents of Jesus.
The Pope then asked the faithful to pray for
grandparents, “who in families are often the witnesses
of the fundamental values of life.”
I entrust to the protection of St. Anne and St. Joachim all
grandparents of the world, imparting a special blessing.”
A Prayer for Grandparents
Dear God,
please bless our grandparents.
Thank you for the life they gave my parents
and for the life they give to me.
For the ways they helped me
and made me strong, I give thanks.
For the ways they love me no matter what,
I rejoice.
For the ways they have paved the road
that leads me here, I am grateful.
A Prayer for Grandparents cont.
Let them grow in wisdom and joy in life.
Let them find peace and rest from their work.
Let them be healed of every sickness and pain.
And let them see with their own eyes
the glory of your Son, Jesus, in the love of their children
and grandchildren.
Bless them always until they come to rest in you.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Diana Macalintal Copyright © 2005
Don’t forget to pick up your copy of
“Grandparents Great Presence”
Grandparent Quotes
Perfect love sometimes does not
come until the first grandchild.
~Welsh Proverb
What children need most are the
essentials that grandparents provide in
abundance: unconditional love,
kindness, patience, humour, comfort,
lessons in life. And, most importantly,
cookies.
~Rudolph Giuliani
The reason grandchildren and
grandparents get along so well is
that they have a common enemy.
~Sam Levenson
One of the most powerful
handclasps is that of a new
grandbaby around the finger of a
grandfather.
~Joy Hargrove
A grandparent is a babysitter
who watches the kids instead of
the television.
~Author Unknown
Grandmother-grandchild
relationships are simple.
Grandmas are short on criticism
and long on love.
~Author Unknown
If I had known how wonderful it
would be to have grandchildren,
I'd have had them first.
~Lois Wyse
Grandparents are there to help
the child get into mischief they
haven't thought of yet.
~Gene Perret
Grandchildren don't make a man
feel old; it's the knowledge that
he's married to a grandmother.
~G. Norman Collie
The best place to be when you're
sad is Grandpa's lap.
~Author Unknown
An hour with your grandchildren
can make you feel young again.
Anything longer than that, and
you start to age quickly.
~Gene Perret
If nothing is going well, call your
grandmother.
~Italian Proverb
Grandchildren are God's way of
compensating us for growing old.
~Mary H. Waldrip
On the seventh day God rested.
His grandchildren must have
been out of town.
~Gene Perret
No cowboy was ever faster on
the draw than a grandparent
pulling a baby picture out of a
wallet.
~Author Unknown
To a small child, the perfect
granddad is unafraid of big dogs
and fierce storms but absolutely
terrified of the word “boo.”
~Robert Brault
I don't intentionally spoil my
grandkids. It's just that
correcting them often takes
more energy than I have left.
~Gene Perret