Bishop John Dolan led the diocese in celebrating a special Mass for grandparents and the elderly Sunday.
The Mass of thanksgiving at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix, followed by a reception, coincided with the Church’s fifth annual World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.
It wasn’t just a Mass honoring grandparents, but the time-tested practice of one generation passing on its love of God to the next.
In his homily, Bishop Dolan highlighted the wisdom about life that comes only with age, adding a humorous touch.
“It isn’t until we’re blessed with years [that] we start to understand what really matters: Faith, love and not buying extended warranties,” he said, drawing laughter.
The bishop also noted how prayer seems to change with age.
“When we’re young, we pray like it’s a drive-thru: ‘I’d like one answered prayer, extra quick; hold the suffering,’” he quipped. “But as we age, prayer becomes something deeper. We stop praying just for ourselves, and we start praying for others; our children, grandchildren, for the world we’re about to leave behind.”
He urged everyone with a grandparent or elderly relative, or who knows someone of advanced years, to let that individual know how loved and valued they are and the special perspective they bring while passing on the faith.
“Thank the elderly in your life. Call your grandparents, your grandma and your grandfather, your aunt or your uncle. Visit that older neighbor. Listen to their stories, even the ones you’ve heard a dozen times,” the bishop continued. “Those aren’t just stories, they’re sacred history.”
The message resonated with Ss. Simon and Jude parishioners Steve and Lupe Contreras.
Attending there for over 40 years, the couple were high school sweethearts who married 47 years ago and are parents to three grown sons. They have six grandchildren. Steve and Lupe appreciated having a special Mass and a worldwide celebration of grandparents and the elderly.
“It shows we are important, and youth need to look to us to have faith and believe God is there and Jesus will be there in their time of need,” said Steve. “When they have questions, they can come to us.”
“We were very influenced by our grandparents, aunts and uncles. They helped us spiritually and sometimes financially when we were first married and struggled to make a living,” he recalled. [But] it was their leadership. They were always at Mass. Seeing them there had me saying, ‘That’s where I want to be.’”
Lupe’s road was more difficult.
Forbidden by her father to attend church because of broken family dynamics, Lupe had to wait until high school and her romance with Steve to begin going regularly, attending with him.
The experience taught perseverance, and she has been blessed by learning the faith.
“Now, it’s our time to show the example to our grandchildren,” she smiled.
Josie Pizzuto, also a Ss. Simon and Jude parishioner and a married mother of two children, was raised by her great-grandparents.
Married at 14, she barely knew her parents, and her grandparents were busy working, so child-rearing fell to her great-grandparents.
“It meant a lot. [Without their guidance] who knows what I would be.” she said.
Established by Pope Francis in 2021, the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly has continued annually on the last Sunday in July — the Sunday closest to the Feast of Ss. Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus and the parents of Mary, the Blessed Mother.
The Diocese of Phoenix Mass is an initiative of the Office of Respect Life Ministries, its mission in part is to “encourage and coordinate programs of prayer and worship that focus on the sanctity of all human life.”
Office Manager Marina Salvador-Velazquez said Bishop Dolan approached her about raising awareness toward the elderly, the sick and those nearing the end of life along with accompaniment to those groups.
“When I learned that Pope Francis had established the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, I thought [this Mass] would be a great opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the grandparents and elderly in our parish communities,” she said.
“The presence and wisdom of grandparents and the elderly is a sign of hope for our families,” Salvador-Velazquez explained. “My father is now 79 years old, and my mother soon will be 76. I cannot imagine how I will feel when I am that age, but this is the time [in life] when my siblings and I need to be more patient, more compassionate and take time to stay in touch, listen and be close to them.”
She invited others with grandparents or elderly family members to do the same.
“Hug them, kiss them, tell them that you love them. Today is the day.”
The blessing of being a grandparent and their role in grandchildren’s lives are addressed in Scripture.
The book of Proverbs states, “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged” (Prov.17:6) and “A good person leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren.” (Prov. 13:22)
This year’s Grandparents Day theme, selected by the late Pope Francis, is “Blessed are those who have not lost hope,” from the book of Sirach (14:2).
The worldwide Catholic Grandparents Association (CGA), which urged Pope Francis to establish the celebration and also works with dioceses to establish grandparent prayer and support groups, said the elderly not only have the wisdom to pass on the faith, but a Biblical mandate to do so.
“[The book of] Deuteronomy tells us to ‘be careful for yourself and watch over your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen, and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life. But make them known to your sons and your grandsons,’” noted CGA International Ministry Coordinator Marilyn Henry.
“If the greatest gift I can give my grandkids is the legacy of faith, then sharing about the times that my faith has gotten me through life is important. If my grandkids remember nothing else about me, they will remember that I loved God,” said Henry.
In his June 26 message for the fifth annual celebration, Pope Leo XIV said that God repeatedly demonstrates His providential care through elderly figures such as Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Zechariah and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.
“God thus teaches us that, in His eyes, old age is a time of blessing and grace, and that the elderly are, for Him, the first witnesses of hope,” the pope said.
“If it is true that the weakness of the elderly needs the strength of the young, it is equally true that the inexperience of the young needs the witness of the elderly in order to build the future with wisdom,” he continued.
The Holy Father also called on the faithful to accompany the elderly.
“God’s fidelity to His promises teaches us that there is a blessedness in old age, an authentic evangelical joy inspiring us to break through the barriers of indifference in which the elderly often find themselves enclosed. Our societies, everywhere in the world, are growing all too accustomed to [letting] this significant and enriching part of their life be marginalized and forgotten.”
Ss. Simon and Jude parishioner Judy Crable, a soon-to-be grandmother for the sixth time, called the day “a wonderful” opportunity to recognize grandparents.
“[We] have such an influence on grandchildren,” she said, adding that’s true even in the case of one of her own granddaughters, whose father has strayed from the Church.
“I bring her [to church] when she is with me. I give her books and help her understand the Mass. I try to plant those seeds. I just pray one day that my son will come back to the Church and raise his children Catholic,” Crable said.
“I remember my grandmother, who passed in the 1980s, would go with my great-aunt to Mass every day. My other great-aunt was a Sister of Mercy. I learned so much from my grandmother.”
“Our elders … have seen fads come and go,” continued Bishop Dolan, “trends rise and fall … in the end, they’ve learned to focus not on what’s trending but what’s true.”
