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“Families everywhere are challenged to keep growing, to keep moving forward, even amid difficulties
and limitations, just as past generations did. All of us are part of a great chain of families stretching back to the
beginning of time. Our families are a treasury of living memory, as children become parents and grandparents in
turn. From them we receive our identity, our values and our faith. We see this in Aldo and Marissa, who have been
married for over fifty years. Their marriage is a monument to love and fidelity! Their grandchildren keep them
young; their house is filled with laughter, happiness and dancing. It was delightful to see [in the video] the
grandmother teaching her granddaughters how to dance! Their love for one another is a gift from God, and it is a
gift that they are joyfully passing on to their children and grandchildren.
A society – listen carefully to this! – a society that does not value grandparents is a society that has no future. A
Church that is not mindful of the covenant between generations will end up lacking the thing that really matters,
which is love. Our grandparents teach us the meaning of conjugal and parental love. They themselves grew up in
a family and experienced the love of sons and daughters, brothers and sisters. So they are a treasury of experience,
a treasury of wisdom for the new generation. It is a big mistake not to ask the elderly about their experience, or to
think that talking to them is a waste of time. Here I would like to thank Missy for her words of witness. She told us
that, among travellers, the family has always been a source of strength and solidarity. Her witness reminds us that,
in God’s house, there is a place at table for everyone. No one is to be excluded; our love and care must extend to
all”.
Aidan Gallagher from EWTN with his family Archbishop Gilbert Garcera Philippines with
the CGA
Archbishop Gilbert Garcera, Philippines
Archbishop Richard Gagnon, Bishop Gregory Birman,
Bishop Lionel Gendron
Bishop Michael Kennedy, Australia
Cardinal Sean Brady who launched the Catholic Grandparents
Association in Knock In 2007 with Archbishop Michael Neary patron of
the CGA And Catherine Wiley Founder
Catherine Wiley introducing our
Commemorative Baptismal Certificate
For Grandparents to Monsignor Carlos
Simon Vasquez.
Catherine Wiley presenting our medal to Archbishop Michael
Neary, Archbishop of Tuam, CGA Patron
Catherine Wiley presenting our medal to Monsignor Carlos Simon
Vasquez, Vatican Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life.
Catherine Wiley with Bishop Denis Nulty, Bishop
of Kildare & Leighlin
David Quinn, Founder, Iona
Institute, Dublin, attending
the CGA reception during the
WMOF.
Maureen Lowry and daughter with
Catherine Wiley
Catherine Wiley with Sir David E.
Osunde from Nigeria
Interview with Vatican radio
New CGA Parish Ministry Guide available for those wishing to begin a Grandparents Ministry
and newly printed membership brochures.
We also have CGA lapel pins available for purchase – please contact us on email or telephone to purchase these
In keeping with the charism which is the
Catholic Grandparents Association, our
exclusive medal has at its’ centre, the Child
Jesus holding a Red Rose which represents the
Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mystic Rose. Jesus
is surrounded by his Grandparents, St. Joachim
and St. Anne so that together, three
generations, Grandparents, parents and
children are represented as one family
symbolizing the communion of the Holy
Trinity.
Working with renowned artists and craftsmen
in Rome, this exquisite design came to fruition
after many years of searching for the image that
would truly depict the beauty, selfless love and
devotion that Grandparents have for their
grandchildren. It is our hope that this beautiful
image, signifying God’s plan for the sanctity
and unity of family generational bonds, will
bring great joy, encouragement and support to
Grandparents in passing on their faith.
Topic of the Month
Pope Francis on the importance of Grandparents to the Church, the family and
society and in keeping with Catherine's talk at the WMOF, the importance of
Family Prayer and the Grandparent's role in teaching our Grandchildren to pray.
Be sure to send us your thoughts and ideas. You may never know the impact you have on
another soul.
Panelists from Italy, Ireland and the U.K. gave support to grandparents from all over the world on how they can pass on their faith to younger generations. (Daniel Ibáñez/CNA)
WMOF Day 2 — Grandparents are a Connection to the Past and a Key to the Future
Grandparents, new and old, came together to receive support and the building blocks on how to tackle their mission
Credit Rachel Lanz: National Catholic Register – Rome Based Journalist In a video message to the World Meeting of Families, Pope Francis went off script to emphasise the importance of the grandparents’ role in young people’s lives. “It is very important to prepare them [young people] for the future, preparing them today in the present, but also rooted in the past: the young people and grandparents.” A grandparent’s role is not easy, having to balance two different relationships: children and grandchildren. “We are the custodians of the faith to the younger generations,” said Anna May McHugh, Managing Director of the Irish National Ploughing Championships. “It takes an age to build trust and a moment to ruin it.” Grandparents, new and old, came together to receive support and the building blocks on how to tackle this mission. Family prayer Grandparents influence 73 percent of vocations. However, Catherine Wiley, founder of the Catholic Grandparents Association, didn’t realize how difficult that would be. “Some of our children drifted away, some grandchildren are not baptized, and we have divorce in our family,” Wiley humbly shares. “But the witness and commitment and love of faith shows, and we will never let it die.” As a grandmother of 10 with 50 years of marriage under her belt, she speaks from experience and was inspired to help other grandparents pass on the faith by keeping prayer in the heart of the family. “Prayer is an eloquent form of proclamation and teaching,” Wiley believes. “It’s not reinventing the wheel, but reintroducing the wheel.”
Her positive perseverance grew the Catholic Grandparents Association to 10,000 members worldwide. “Never forget how much you are loved and cherished in families, and in the Mother Church.” Authentic Faith Pope Francis’ soft spot for grandparents gives encouragement to a generation that may feel past, but on the contrary, they uphold the future. However, younger generations growing up in the Church today face many distractions and doubts. Being present and spending time with grandchildren gave Sarah and Declan O’Brien, Irish grandparents involved in the Focolare Movement, opportunities to share how they live their faith with their family. The O’Briens have five children and four grandchildren, yet most of their children don’t educate their grandchildren in the faith. After seeing the hardships their children have gone through, and the Church has gone through as well, how can they remain Catholic? “In a way the Church is a family, the family of families, and if in our family someone did something really wrong, I wouldn’t leave my family,” Declan explained. “I would stay in my family and try to put it right.” After a strong 40 years of marriage, the O’Briens see how their faith is a commitment. “We’re going to stay with it in good times and in bad times and bring the love of God to our Church.” Today, many grandparents expressed how they have become mute. They’re unable to speak about faith with their children, let alone their grandchildren. The O’Briens have experienced this pain, yet remain positive. “We have to give them that hope and maybe someday they might say, gosh, our Grandad and Nanna really lived with love and hope and belief,” said Declan.
Culture and Tradition The role of a grandparent has many nuances. While the grandfather sustains, listens and encourages the family, the grandmother transmits the cultural and family traditions, said Caterina and Angelo Russo, Pastoral Care Team of the Diocese of Naples, Italy. “Parents tell their children where to go and what to do,” said Caterina, “But grandchildren needs someone to ask them to stop and to tell them about family, life and faith.” New grandparents, Dick and Kathleen Stokes from Westmeath, Ireland, shared with the Register that they also keep that quiet time with their new grandchild because of the lifestyle their children as parents are living today. “We thought we were under pressure in our time, but the pressure is a lot more intense now then it was,” said Dick. “Every house in Ireland needs two working parents to survive economically.” With long commutes, family time with children is becoming a gift rather than a custom. In the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 62 percent of married couples are both working. After holding back tears, the Stokes expressed that regardless of this reality, they are blessed to use the time they have with their grandchild because of how much that child brightens their lives.
OFFICIAL FAMILY PRAYER FOR WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES 2018
God, our Father,
We are brothers and sisters in Jesus your Son,
One family, in the Spirit of your love.
Bless us with the joy of love.
Make us patient and kind,
gentle and generous,
welcoming to those in need.
Help us to live your forgiveness and peace.
Protect all families with your loving care,
Especially those for whom we now pray:
[We pause and remember family members and others by name].
Increase our faith,
Strengthen our hope,
Keep us safe in your love,
Make us always grateful for the gift
of life that we share.
This we ask, through Christ our
Lord,
Amen
Mary, mother and guide, pray for
us.
Saint Joseph, father and protector,
pray for us.
Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for
us.
Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, pray
for us.
Julia Dezelski, Assistant Director,
Marriage, Family and Laity, USCCB and
her daughter Miriam Grace, CGA
Reception, WMOF. Mary Cotter, Peter Tiernan, Catherine Wiley, Archbishop Neary,
Marilyn Henry, WMOF 2018
Pope at Knock with Archbishop
Michael Neary and rector of Knock
Father Richard Gibbons Fr Richard Gibbons rector of
Knock with Fr Francis secretary
to Archbishop Michael Neary
WMOF 2018 Keynote by Most Rev. Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of all Ireland and
President of the Irish Bishops' Conference
Good afternoon everyone, hello everyone, sings “the joy of love, a joy for all Gods family, the joy of love,
transcending time and space, our love for each other mirrors God, the Fathers love, the joy of love a joy for all the
Earth”. You sound good!
Recently someone sent me a collection of old prayers called ‘circle prayers’. I don’t know if you know any but
apparently they were very popular in Celtic countries like Ireland. Circle prayers ask God to surround us with love
and protection. One beautiful prayer goes like this; “Circle me Lord, keep protection near and danger a far. Circle me
Lord, keep light near and darkness a far. Circle me Lord, keep peace within, keep evil out. Circle me Lord, keep hope
within, keep doubt without”. You know one of the most beautiful circle prayers is the one we call St Patricks
breastplate. “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ all around me”. I remember teaching it to a primary school class once and
one little boy said “it’s like a force field” and he was dead right. This idea that when we are in need or sad or ill or
lonely, God surrounds us with love, care and protection.
I’ve always liked the term ‘family circle’. For me it captures that unique closeness and connection which family
represents. Here at the World Meeting of the Families, we celebrate the good news of the family which is joy for the
world and this afternoon I would like to explore how the family circle of love and prayer and trust and care is so
important for the church, for society and for the whole world. And even though we all know that sometimes
relationships in families don’t work out, we still hold that circle of relationships within the family. Grandparents,
parents, children, siblings, and grandchildren we still hold that as something unique and special.
My dear mother died just 5 months ago at the age of 90. God rest her. And one of the most moving and special
moments for me at that time was when we gathered as a family circling her bedside and shared her last Eucharist. It
was very moving for me to touch the sacred host to her lips and place a tiny drop of the precious blood on her
tongue. “the body of Christ” I said “the blood of Christ”. It was a moment of communion, of intimacy and tenderness
in our family as if we were returning to my mother some of the love and tenderness which she had shared with us
growing up. But above all to be with her in prayer, it was the least we could do for this beautiful, strong woman who
had handed on the faith to us and who had always prayed for us, her six sons and six daughters. Mama lived the
faith by the example of her prayer. She showed us what it was like to have a deep friendship with the Lord. She gave
us powerful witness when things weren’t going so well in times of trouble and suffering and she helped us to offer
every moment to God. Among my earliest memories is of my mother lining us up in the kitchen before school to
comb our hair, we were likes steps of stairs. And one by one as she combed and brushed, she prayed with us the
morning offering “oh my God” she said “I give to you all I think and say and do. All my work and happy play I will give
to God today”. So these days whenever I think about living and handing on the faith, I think of my mother and
father, wrapping us around in a circle of faith and love and service and tenderness.
We often describe God’s fatherly love for us but don’t we sometimes forget that God’s tender, loving kindness is
also like the love of a mother which is there for us no matter what, despite our mistakes and our sinfulness and
together the tender love of father and mother in the family circling their children around with warmth and safety
and teaching and learning and mercy and forgiveness and freedom and responsibility and charity and generosity.
Together this generates and nourishes the first and vital cell of church and society, which is the family.
Pope Francis speaks about a revolution of tenderness in today’s world. One which will melt the hardness of heart
that is so prevalent nowadays. Hardness of heart, we see it so much in the violence, greed, destruction of property,
deformation of character, vengeance, hatred that is in the world. Instead Pope Francis says we need a revolution of
tenderness, fostered and nourished in the family circle which challenges us to show sensitivity and concern for
everything and everyone and to protect the wonder of life in our common home. And since, as Pope Francis puts it,
everything is connected. This includes the way we care for the environment, how we welcome and accept refugees,
the elderly, the unborn, the forgotten, the abandoned, how we acknowledge the worth of a poor person, a human
embryo, a person with disabilities. You can read all about this idea of interconnectedness in Laudardo C.
So the family is like a school for humanity and as you know the family is the little church, the domestic church
because it’s in the family that values are transmitted, the wisdom of generations is passed on, the choices between
right and wrong are evaluated and weighed up, connections with the past are made, links with other families are
forged and it is in the family that we are first loved and where we first learned to love. It is in the family where we
discover who we are, where we’ve come from, our intergenerational relationships, our links with a place, with a
land, with a city and of course with a worshipping community family is all about connection. Family connects us to a
home, to the people who are our flesh and blood but it also connects us to a community, to a parish, to a county,
ask the people from Tyrone or Dublin. Family connects us to a parish, to a history and a culture, to a language and
tradition to our past, present and future.
For believers of course family connect us to faith and values, to the baptism and a worshiping community and so
that first vital cell, that is the immediate family circle, multiplies and divides and multiplies again and connects us to
a much larger family, a family of families that is the church and that is society.
Listen to these beautiful words of Pope St John Paul II where he reflects on family, he says “The family is the
domestic church. The meaning of this traditional Christian idea is that the home is the church in miniature. The
Church is the sacrament of God’s love. She is a communion of faith and life, she is a mother and a teacher, she is at
the service of the whole human family as it goes forward to its ultimate destiny. In the same way”, St John Paul says,
“is a community of life and love. It educates and leads its members towards their full human maturity and it serves
the good of all along the road of life. The family”, he says “is the first and vital cell of society. In its own way it is a
living image and historical representation of the mystery of the church. The future of the world and the future of the
church passes through the family”.
My brothers and sisters, in the family we also discover how we can connect with society and how each one of us can
bring our personal gifts to serving the common good and the wellbeing of all humanity. The catechism of the
Catholic Church puts it like this, “the family is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which husband
and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of love. The family life”, the catechism says “is an
initiation in to life in society”.
During this WMOF, we will be reflecting and communicating and distilling for our times this beautiful prophetic
realism of God’s plan for marriage in the family. Of course this good news, the gospel of the family, has its origins in
the creation of the humanity in the image of God who is love. A Marist Latitia traces the gospel of the family from
sacred scripture to church tradition and the teachings of the magisterium.
I particularly like the way Pope Francis reminds us how God chose to save us. How did he do it? He did it by sending
his son in to the world, into a human family which was open to receiving him in love. We believe that the churches
proclamation of the family, founded on that circle of faithful loving between a woman and a man which is open to
the gift of children which is the fruit of that love. We see this as good news for society and for the world. Look
there’s no getting away from the fact, however, that communicating the family in this way can appear increasingly
countercultural in many parts of the world including Ireland. And this has been accelerated, I think, by the departure
in public discourse from the philosophical and anthropological underpinning of marriage in the family in natural law.
And by the erosion of social supports for traditional marriage in the form of constitutional guarantees or positive
legislation. In presenting God’s plan for marriage in the family, which includes God’s plans for the transmission of life
itself, the church can sometimes be accused of being exclusive or lacking in compassion.
How difficult it must be for young people today to make sense of all the contradictory messages that are presented
to them in the world. They are easily drawn towards an overly emotional and romantic concept of love and marriage
which Pope Francis has observed can be constructed and modified at will. With regard to the transmission of life,
our young people are surrounded by a contraceptive, anti-birth mentality with increasing indifference to abortion
and then later whenever they do earnestly desire to have children they struggle with the technocratic
commodification of child bearing, which if necessary can be accessed independently of any sexual relationship. In to
this complicated topsy tervy world we have the joy and the challenge of communicating a clear and positive vision of
family and marriage. The good news that human life is sacred, each human being comes from God who created us,
male and female, that we are all willed by God who loves each and every one of us that self-giving love and
commitment in the marriage of a man and a woman open to life is not only possible, but is a beautiful and fulfilling
gift with the power of God’s grace. That chastity is achievable, healthy and good for our young people. That giving
yourself in marriage to another person for life is a special, rewarding and wonderful symbol of Christ’s forgiving,
faithful love for his Church. We proclaim this gospel of the family because we believe in it and we also firmly hope
that with the help of God it is attainable.
Of course, it is one thing to have a joyful message to proclaim and propose, it’s quite another to find effective ways
of communicating this message. If no one is listening, it’s difficult to communicate. The task of proclaiming the
gospel of the family in the Church belongs to all of us. Because it is most effectively communicated from cell to cell,
from family to family, witnessing intentionally and courageously and by lived example to the Church’s vision.
Together, therefore, we proclaim the gospel of the family because we are convinced that the welfare of the family is
decisive for the future of the world or as St John Paul II loved to put it “as the family goes, so goes the nation and so
goes the whole world in which we live”.
Three years ago I had the privilege of attending the Senate of the family in Rome. It was very moving to hear the
bishops as shepherds of the Church describing their hopes and anxieties that face their flocks, the families of the
world. We heard passionate, first-hand accounts of forced migration, persecution and war. We were shocked by the
extent of human trafficking, the exploitation and commodification of woman and children, we heard about wombs
for hire, about child soldiers, forced prostitution and the exploitation of street children in large cities. We shuddered
at the prevalence of abuse and domestic violence. We considered the challenges presented by some cultures
regarding polygamy, arranged marriages, mixed and interfaith marriages. We spoke about the pressures on family
life from individualism, isolation and the spread of abortion, euthanasia and gender ideology. We face the reality
that in many countries the majority of marriages take place without any reference to faith or to God. At the same
time, however, we shared our tremendous adoration and gratitude for the many families who do their best in
complex situations to persevere, to grow in love and to generously witness, to commitment, forgiveness and lifelong
faithfulness. The overwhelming sense among the bishops at the Senate I found was a desire to be with all families
and especially with those whose homes are visited by tragedy and violence and those, who for whatever reason,
have experienced breakdown in their relationships and those who may feel excluded from the church for this reason
or for other reasons. The Senators and Marist Latitia were clear that we all need to be mindful of those who have
begun new relationships and unions. We have to try to find sincere and truthful ways of welcoming and including
them in the life and worshiping community of the Church.
This World Meeting of the Families provides us with another opportunity to propose ways of accompanying families
in these and other difficult situations including developing a ministry of care, for those who marriage relationships
have broken down, conscious that the Christian message of truth and mercy converges in Christ. At the Senate, I
really sensed a desire among the bishops of the world to help all God’s people find God’s plan for them knowing that
no one is excluded from the circle of God’s love and that all are included in the Church’s pastoral activity.
So in bringing our message about marriage and family in to the world we face a challenge of trying to communicate
our sincerely held perspectives about family and other matters because we do so alongside those of other faiths and
those of no faith. We have, therefore, to encourage conversations at national and international level about the
importance of the family. We must also be aware that in the aftermath of the child abuse scandals, and other
shameful episodes of the past in the Church. There are those who feel they can no longer trust our message maybe
because they have been directly hurt and betrayed in their own families by the experience of Church or because the
revelations of such heinous crimes by clergy and religious and other Church personnel have shocked them to the
core.
Pope Benedict XVI alerted us in Ireland to the fact that the sins and crimes of sexual abuse in the Church have not
only had tragic consequences in the lives of the victims and their families but they have also obscured the light of
the gospel and for me that is particularly true about the gospel of the family. But still, if we truly believe the good
news that the welfare of the family is decisive to the future of the world, then how can we keep from singing and
proclaiming this vital truth. We must work together with all people of good will, to encourage the state, to
encourage and support the family and especially to support the uniqueness of the faithful and exclusive union
between a married man and a woman as a cherished space for the baring and upbringing of children. In doing this
the state is not only caring for its citizens but it is also strengthening and nurturing the foundations of society itself.
As Pope Francis has said “the family deserves special attention by those responsible for the common good because it
is the basic unit of society which brings strong links of union that underpin human existence and with the generation
and education of children that ensures the renewal and future of society.
So taking inspiration from the powerful 1983 charter of the rights of the family, which you can find in familiaris
consortio, we might discuss with all our public representatives in all our various countries to what extent does public policy
support family and life? To what extent does it support freedom of conscience and education? A proper work, life balance which
respects the roles of mothers and fathers. What does our economic and social policies say to poorer families? Particularly those
policies which impact directly on family and what about the needs of children, the elderly tackling the proliferation of drugs and
alcohol and gambling and other addictive behaviours which can destroy home and family? How do welfare policies and benefit
programmes support families who are most in need and those who are so easily targeted and exploited by loan sharks and other
criminal elements? How can we better assist young people who want to establish a family, mortgage a home, take out insurance,
but who sometimes may be convinced by economic policy to remain single?
In asking these questions of public policy makers, we are not suggesting that we want the state to overly intrude or to replace the
important autonomy of the family on the contrary; we do so because we believe that if the institution of the family is harmed,
then all society suffers.
As the vital circle and community of love and support in society, the family is much more than an economic or social unit; it is a
privileged space, a space for care, education, health promotions, mediations, security, community cohesion and safety. When the
family is neglected by society, social problems multiply and become increasingly more complex. It would be a mistake to neglect
the importance of the family in favour of some kind of society of ‘ones’. You know what I mean, founded upon the undisputed
supremacy of the pure individual, to replace ‘we’ with ‘me’, again on the contrary individuals thrive best when they have the
nourishment, primary support and wrap around care of the family. All those simple, everyday gestures that we get in a family of
love and trust and gratitude and concern and forgiveness and healing, all of these which are part and parcel of family life help
society because they help to create stability, and the solidarity on which society depends.
In entering a dialogue between the Church and the state on the importance of family, we are very conscious of course that our
pastoral experience shows us that family relationships do not always work out. At times they require the direct, intervention for
the safety and wellbeing of family members. We also have to be cautious about thinking that people who disagree with us on the
issue of family are necessarily hostile to us, they are not always. The engagement of people of faith together with all people of
good will in conversations about family, marriage and other critical life matters is to be encouraged and welcomed. In the
Catholic Church, of course in these conversations we will draw upon a rich tradition of social and moral teaching which will
sometimes bring uncomfortable questions in to such a dialogue. However, in an atmosphere of respectful encounter it is possible
for two way critical interaction and conversations to take place between religious traditions and broader culture including
constructive critiques of social, political, legal and economic practises as they affect the family.
My friends, this World Meeting of Families gives us a privileged opportunity to communicate the gospel of the family add intra,
within the Church, and add extra for the good of the Church and society. In short, the good news of the family is a message of joy
for the world; it is a gift for the Church and for society. So I want to conclude by offering you some words from the second
Vatican council Gaudium et Spes where it speaks about fostering the nobility of marriage and the family, isn’t that
beautiful, the nobility of marriage and the family. This is what the council said “the wellbeing of the individual
person and of human and Christian society is intimately linked with the healthy condition of that community
produced by marriage and the family. For God himself is the author of marriage endowed as it is with various
benefits and purposes and these benefits and purposes have a very decisive baring on the continuation of the
human race on the personal development and eternal destiny of the individual members of a family and on the
dignity, stability, peace and prosperity of the family itself and human society as a whole”.
My friends I am so conscious that Pope Francis offers us the Holy Trinity as an icon of love for our reflection during
this World Meeting. So I would like to pray with you as I began an ancient Celtic circle prayer, this time a prayer of
blessing for your family and for the family of families that is the Church.
The compassing, you know a compass, the compassing of God the father be with you. The circling of the God of life.
The compassing of Christ be on you. The circling of the Christ of love. The compassing of the Spirit be on you. The
circling of the Spirit of grace. May the compassing of the three, Father, Son and Spirit shield you this day, this night
and always.
sings “the joy of love, a joy for all Gods family, the joy of love, transcending time and space, our love for each other
mirrors God, the Fathers love, the joy of love a joy for all the Earth”.
God bless you and your families, God bless you, thank you.
Some pictures from the Scottish CGA Pilgrimage on Sunday 19th. These were taken by Paul McSherry for the Scottish Catholic Observer.
