A Letter From Bishop Michael Kennedy Grandparents are

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 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