July 26. St Joachim and St Anna.    The president of the St Anne’s sodality sent out a special message to all the members. “Very little is known about this couple but tradition honours them as a loving couple and the parents of Mary, and so the grandparents of Jesus.  They therefore played a role in God’s plan of salvation.”  The Women of St Anne agreed that not only women but men too are often quietly in the background offering their support and especially praying for their grandchildren..  For other families, grandparents are much more actively involved and may even have the greatest role in bringing up their grandchildren. They also recognised that at times there are more than just two grandparents who play a role.   All the members of the BBT group expressed their love and concern and decided to regularly include the special prayer for their grandchildren.  

Let us praise illustrious men and women, our ancestors in their successive generations.  Their offspring will last for ever.  From Sirach 44. 

Pope Francis. Very often it is grandparents who ensure that the most important values are passed down to their grandchildren and many people can testify that they owe their Christian initiation to them. AL 192 We must reawaken the collective sense of gratitude, of appreciation, of hospitality, which maes the elderly feel like a living part of the community.  AL191.