God's Guide for Grandparents. Susan M. Erschen
Читать онлайн.| Название | God's Guide for Grandparents |
|---|---|
| Автор произведения | Susan M. Erschen |
| Жанр | Словари |
| Серия | |
| Издательство | Словари |
| Год выпуска | 0 |
| isbn | 9781681921525 |
God’s Guide for Grandparents
God’s Guide
forGrandparents
Susan M. Erschen
OurSundayVisitor
www.osv.com Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. Huntington, Indiana 46750
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America copyright © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. — Libreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. — Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Excerpts from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, copyright © 2006, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Quotations from papal and other Vatican-generated documents available on vatican.va are copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
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Copyright © 2017 by Susan M. Erschen. Published 2017.
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ISBN: 978-1-68192-100-6 (Inventory No. T1835)
eISBN: 978-1-68192-152-5
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About the Author
Susan Erschen writes frequently on the spirituality of giving, gratitude, living simply, and spending time with God. Her articles have appeared in America, The Priest magazine, Our Sunday Visitor, St. Anthony Messenger, and Today’s Catholic Teacher. She is the former Director of Stewardship Education for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. She enjoys spending time with family and volunteering in her parish community.
For my dear grandchildren, with love always
Contents
Introduction
The front door opened at my sister’s house and the lilting voice of her daughter could be heard calling out, “Guess who’s coming to Grandma’s house?”
My sister just beamed as her daughter carried her three-week-old grandson into the room. “I just love that my house is now ‘Grandma’s House,’” my sister said. “Do you ever get tired of hearing that?” she asked me.
“No,” I smiled, “you never get tired of it.” Little fingerprints now appear mysteriously on all my windows and mirrors. A collection of sippy cups sits on a kitchen shelf that once held wine glasses. The front of my refrigerator is decorated with scribbled drawings. And my desk drawers are full of “I ♥ U Grandma” notes crafted in crayon. Yes, I am thrilled I now live in a place called, by some very dear children, “Grandma’s House.”
Being a grandparent is truly one of life’s greatest blessings. It is the fulfillment of Scripture’s beautiful prayer, “May you … / … live to see your children’s children” (Ps 128:5–6). These words are a part of many wedding liturgies. We may not give them much thought when we are on the threshold of the next stage of our lives. However, when the child we once cradled in our arms hands us his or her own child to hold for the first time, a cosmic shift occurs in our lives. We may never be the same again. With God’s guidance and grace the change can hopefully be a joyful and beautiful one.
We may not even remember all we thought about when we held our first grandchild. It can be a time of great emotion — joy mixed with worry. We may have wondered where the years went. How we could possibly be old enough to be a grandparent? We may have been counting fingers and toes and asking for assurances that everyone was well. We surely marveled at the beauty of this new life and wondered who the baby looked like. One thing I do remember most vividly as I held my first granddaughter was thinking how could I possibly be worthy of this precious little girl God had sent into my life. How