Lighting the candle of hope across generations

Julian Paparella

Thursday, July 24, 2025

A reflection for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly – Sunday, July 27, 2025

When my wife and I got married five years ago, one of the most powerful comments we received was that getting married was an act of hope in the future. This idea has stayed with me ever since. It seems even more true now that we’ve had our first child. Amidst the uncertainties of the world, having kids is an act of hope in the future. It is a sign that life is still worth living and that the future bears promise despite the challenges it will bring. Bringing someone into the world means believing that amidst the ups and downs, the future holds something good for them.

Wars, economic instability, the climate crisis – these are all realities that can make our hope wane. Nevertheless, there are still many reasons to hope. Previous generations have certainly had their fair share of reasons to despair. Yet they chose to persevere, to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and walk towards the future with hope. We are here thanks to them. We are here because they did not throw in the towel on life. Despite the hardships they went through, they continued to welcome new generations into the family of humanity.

Hope can be found looking at the faces of other generations than our own, both those younger than us and older. Looking at the faces of our children, we see the brightness in their eyes, undimmed by the crises the world faces. In the faces of the elderly among us, we witness the persistence and perseverance that have enabled them to not give up along life’s journey.

In this regard, families are cradles of hope. It is beautiful to see videos on social media of grandparents and great-grandparents meeting the newest members of their family for the very first time. Their faces light up. Oftentimes, they break out in tears. Such a profound emotional reaction reveals not only the joy of welcoming a new life, but also the promise that one’s own life continues in another. How heartwarming and moving it is to hold in one’s arms the next generation. Families make up the chain of life that links one generation to the next in bonds of love, care, and affection. They are places where we learn from the past and look to the future.

How important it is to find opportunities to spend time with one another across generations. Amidst the accelerated pace of life, there is a risk that younger generations are becoming consumed by everything on their plate, while older generations are left out of sight and out of mind, neglected, and experiencing loneliness.

The World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, established by Pope Francis in 2021, is an annual reminder to reach out and take the time to be with those who walk before us on the journey of life. It is celebrated towards the end of July, on the Sunday closest to July 26th, the Feasts of Saints Anne and Joachim – Mary’s parents and Jesus’ grandparents. This year’s theme, amid this Jubilee Year dedicated to hope, is “Blessed are those who have not lost hope” (Sir. 14:2).

Acts of love and care expressed across generations are a source of hope that gives life. In spending time with those who are elderly – our grandparents, older relatives, friends, neighbours, and others – we extend a candle of hope that offers brightness, warmth, and love. In return, these precious encounters remind those of us who are younger of the bigger picture in life, help us to keep things in perspective, and give us a sense of what really matters.

During this Holy Year, the Vatican is offering a Jubilee Indulgence to those who “visit, for an appropriate amount of time, the elderly who are alone… making, in a sense, a pilgrimage to Christ present in them.” How powerful it is to recognize that Christ is present in those we visit. As Pope Leo XIV affirmed in his Message for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly this year: “Visiting an elderly person is a way of encountering Jesus, who frees us from indifference and loneliness.” We can all ask for this meaningful grace: to have a heart that sees Christ in those who are elderly, suffering, lonely, or sick.

Each one of us can take up the invitation to visit a loved one or neighbour who is elderly, especially if he or she is alone. It is a way of sharing the flame of hope that lights the way from one generation to the next.

Lord Jesus, You who are close to those who are alone and afflicted, open our hands to reach out to You in them, and our eyes to see that in visiting them, we visit You. Amen.