August Newsletter

August Newsletter

My Dearest Grandparents, Great Grandparents and Friends, 

Greetings to each and every one of you in this beautiful blessed month of August, which has been dedicated to the Immaculate heart of Mary, and which represents the desire of our Holy Mother Mary, to gather all people to her loving care and protection. 

Our National Grandparents Pilgrimage at the Shrine of our Lady of Knock, Ireland, has been historically the day when we Grandparents and our families gather together in our spiritual home, to pray for and with each other and to thank all our Grandparents alive and dead for all they have done for us down through the ages particularly in passing on our beautiful gift of faith. 

Due to the Corona virus, sadly, this year, our Grandparents day in Knock will be a little different. Our Pilgrimage will be broadcast online, live from The Basilica. I know that you will understand that this in the interest of keeping everyone safe and secure. 

For fifteen years now we have come together by the thousands on this special day. We have grown to be the largest Pil-grimage in Knock. This year, although we may be physically distant; we will be more strongly spiritually connected than ever. 

We realize this is a big sacrifice for all of us, desiring to honor and thank our Holy Mother and St Joachim and Anne, the Grandparents of her Divine Son Jesus. We know that there Is no sacrifice a loving Grandparent will not make for their be-loved grandchildren; so let us be united together on line in our thousands from all over the World on this our special day the 13th of September at 3:00 PM, Irish time. 

Father Richard Gibbons. Rector of Knock, will be our Chief Celebrant with the renowned Basilica choir and Soloist, Una No-lan providing the music. 

Please ask your Grandchildren to help you get on line and to watch one hour with you on this very blessed and grace filled occasion. 

Our Grandparents Pilgrimage is about coming together to pray to thank God and his blessed Mother Mary for the many blessings that he has given us and to continue to invoke His blessing and His protection on us in these difficult, uncertain, uneasy times 

But also-there is something else God the Father is asking of us this year and that is a little penance. This has been a very challenging year for all of us especially Grandparents and the Elderly who may have been cocooning for a long time and may have not seen their Grandchildren or loved ones for quite a while. You have sacrificed because you love your families and want everyone to be safe and secure as you struggle to come to grips with a whole new way of life imposed upon us by the Corona pandemic. 

Let us celebrate our Vocation as Grandparents to pass on our faith together as never before. Nothing will ever stop us from loving and praying for our beloved families and grandchildren, showing them with all our heart and soul the love and joy of the Gospel which has sustained us throughout our lives. Through wars, floods, famine, plagues, fire and now the co-rona virus. Nothing will prevail against us. Our faith is our anchor, our hope, our love, our joy, our eternal legacy which on-ly begins on earth and ends with “the great embrace of life without end”. 

So let us join together on September 13 (3:00 PM Irish time) and ignite the Internet with our greatest Pilgrimage ever! 

We offer our prayers, love and devotion to St. Joachim and St Anne as they greet their daughter into Heaven on August 15. 

May the blessings of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne be with you and your families today and always. 

Love and Prayers, 

Catherine Wiley—Founder of the Catholic Grandparents Association 

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