A Word from Your Pastor July 21

Dear Parishioners:

The week following the Festival begins the summer for many folks at St. Timothy.  Of course, that makes the summer all too short since School will be back in session in just a month.  Do you remember when summer used to be all of June, July and August?  While we have a lull, as short as it may be, it is good to take time to reflect on what we are grateful for.  This week offers a hint of one thing to think about.  Friday, July 26, will be the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that is, Jesus’ maternal grandparents.  So this week, perhaps we can reflect on all that grandparents are for us.

I offer a word of praise and thanks to grandparents for many things.  First, I thank you for what you have done in raising your own children to the point of having children of their own.  You have created a family that has opened to the world.

I thank grandparents for doing all they can to pass on Faith to their grandchildren: for the way you insisted that your own children go to Mass when they were in your home, for complaining to them now when they don’t bring their own children to church or seek to offer them the witness and education in the Sacraments that you continue, and for doing what you can to share your Faith with your grandchildren by paying for their education in a Catholic School, by bringing them to church yourself and by buying them “religious” presents that incite their curiosity about the Catholic Faith.

I thank grandparents for the prayers you pray for your children and grandchildren who are far away, for “adopting” as your own the children in our community whose own grandparents live far away, for volunteering your time in the CGS Atrium, in the Reading Room and in the Classroom in order to share your Faith with the children in our parish and school.

The Grandson of Saints Joachim and Anne changed the world.  The grandson of Lois (mother of Eunice) is our Patron Saint Timothy, who served as a faithful disciple of the Lord and companion to Saint Paul.  Yours will do the same because of your faithful witness. 

My own grandparents, John and Alma Hayes and Bill and Iona Keeley, meant so much to me and I continue to remember what they taught me.  You have heard their wisdom in what I have shared about my own family experiences.  May you know how much you are appreciated for all you do and are to all of us at St. Timothy Parish.  May God reward you as only He knows how.  And may your sons and daughters continue to learn from you how put their Faith into practice for the sake of generations to come.