Spiritual Reflection

Pilgrims of Hope: Our Grandparents and Other Wise Figures

This Sunday, 27 July 2025, we celebrate World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Pope Francis established this day in 2021 and chose this time as it’s the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. The theme chosen by Pope Francis for this year’s celebration is “Blessed are those who have not lost hope.” (Sir 14:2)

As we continue to explore this Jubilee theme, Pilgrims of Hope, we can look to our grandparents and older members of our community as lived examples of this. So many of them have stories, wisdom and experience that reveal a deep trust and faith in God’s presence and compassion.

They have inevitably met both challenges and joys throughout their lives, and by listening attentively to these experiences, we can see God’s footprints, even when it may not be named in this way. These memories of God’s presence are signs of hope for us all.

Marie Harris is a mother to nine children and a grandparent to seventeen children. Some of Marie’s grandchildren attended schools in our Diocese, and her beautiful daughter Jane Harris was a teacher at one of our primary schools before she sadly died from cancer in 2012. Marie is most certainly a pilgrim of hope, and in our conversation, she speaks to a time in her life when she felt God’s presence in a most profound way.

Ripples of Hope – Marie Harris’ Story
(Click the link in the image below.)

Invitation: Take some time to reflect on these questions within your own life, or share this conversation with a grandparent or a wise figure in your life.

What has been one of the most challenging or defining times in your life?
What enabled you to get through this challenging time?
What does hope mean for you?