If you’ve ever shopped for gifts for grandparents, you’ve undoubtedly seen the kitschy phrase “The Best Parents Get Promoted to Grandparents” or “The Best Dads Get Promoted to Grandpa” or something similar.
No doubt, Sts. Joachim and Anne were special. From the beginning of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s life, they took special care to protect Mary and to raise her to love God. They brought her to the Temple to be blessed and consecrated. It appears they did everything right as parents.
It only makes sense that they would be promoted to grandparents of the Son of God! There aren’t many details about the relationship, if any, that Joachim and Anne had with the Child Jesus. But based on the care with which they raised the Virgin Mary, it is reasonable to suggest they would have done the same with their Grandson.
What we know is that, based on their role in bearing and raising the Mother of God, they must have been holy, righteous, and obedient. They must have known and practiced the Jewish faith in order to raise Mary in a godly manner. They laid the foundation upon which the Divine Child Jesus could learn the faith too.
Grandparents today have this same responsibility—not only to play with the grandkids (and occasionally offer their free services as babysitters—am I right?) but also to raise the grandchildren in the Faith: to teach them virtue, to pray with them, to pass along the stories of the saints and our Catholic heritage, and, in a bittersweet way, to show their children and grandchildren how to prepare for a happy, holy death.
Let’s not forget that they need additional prayers for a variety of other reasons—for their health and wellness, for their safety, that they might not experience loneliness, and the many other unique needs of our elderly loved ones.
We offer this prayer for grandparents. Pray it together regularly as a family and encourage your children to add their specific intentions for their grandmas and grandpas.
Let Us Pray:
O God, we praise You and thank You for the gift of our
grandparents, (Names). We are thankful for their wisdom,
for their love, and for all the memories we’ve been able to
make together. We ask you to watch over them this day, that
they might be healthy, happy, and holy, and (mention any
other intentions). We pray that, through the intercession of
Sts. Joachim and Anne, they might enjoy the final years of
their lives and, at the hour of their death, may be welcomed
into Heaven to be with You forever. Amen.
And a passing prayer you can pray often:
God, thank You for the gift of our grandparents. Watch
over them so they might be healthy, happy, and holy. Amen
This article is excerpted from “The Prayer Book for Tired Parents: Practical Ways to Grow in Love of God and Get Your Family to Heaven” (c) 2022 David and Debbie Cowden. Please only reproduce with permission.
