Alan and Joanne Foley know a bit about grandchildren. They have nine, ages 11 to 22. Just hanging out with them is a great joy, Joanne said, “because they are … filled with life and energy, and interested and curious in life.”
She and her husband developed a curriculum in early 2020 for a grandparents program called Early Catholic Family Life. They offered it for the first time just before the pandemic hit.
The couple recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to discuss the program and the importance of grandparent-grandchildren interaction.
Grandparents are interested in learning ways to pass down the faith to their grandchildren, Joanne said, as well as faith-based opportunities for spending time with them, which she and her husband do. “It was an opportunity for them to come together with their little ones and play in activities … like baptizing dollies and pretending the Mass and they just loved (it),” Joanne said.
“Just hanging out together and doing fun activities, singing together, talking about Jesus together and learning some songs, and things that talked about (how) God made everything,” she said.
Family links from grandparents to parents to grandchildren are “really key,” Alan said, because they help to instill a Catholic culture that’s such an important part of children maintaining their faith through early adulthood and into the time when they themselves are having children.
So, how can a family honor a grandmother on Mother’s Day? If family members live nearby, Joanne suggested, bring her to church. If she is unable to leave her home, perhaps arrange for her to receive the Eucharist, she said. But for sure, she said, “pray for them.”
“We know the power of prayer, we benefit from the gift of our grandchildren’s prayers for us and our children’s prayers for us because they love us,” Joanne said. “Since we love our grandparents, pray for them.”
To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. May 6 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. May 7 and 2 p.m. May 8.
To learn more about Early Catholic Family Life, visit earlycatholicfamilylife.org.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Father David Blume, director of the Office of Vocations for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who discusses the World Day of Prayer for Vocations May 8; and Bishop Joseph Williams, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who discusses his relationship with his earthly mother and the Blessed Mother.
Listen to their interviews after they have aired:
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