Too often grandparents see themselves as a burden and do not want their children or grandchildren to worry about them.
One of the most common phrases spoken by grandparents to their children or grandchildren is, "I don't want to be a burden." This often comes when their health continues to decline and they have to rely more and more on caregivers to get around.
Unfortunately this belief has led, in the extreme, to an increase in euthanasia, with many grandparents and elderly seeing themselves as burdens to their family or society and wishing to "remove the burden" from their loved ones.
What needs to be said is that this idea is entirely false, and that grandparents should never be viewed as a burden -- but as a gift to be treasured.
Precious resource
All of the recent popes have spoken against this mindset, including Pope Benedict XVI, who spoke about it in an address he gave in 2008:
Today, the economic and social evolution has brought profound transformations to the life of families. The elderly, including many grandparents, find themselves in a sort of "parking area": some realize they are a burden to their family and prefer to live alone or in retirement homes with all the consequences that such decisions entail.
He explains that, "It is always necessary to react strongly to what dehumanizes society," and that "If grandparents, as is said often and on many sides, are a precious resource, it is necessary to put into practice coherent choices that allow them to be better valued."
Pope Benedict XVI pointed to the examples of grandparents in the Bible, highlighting their example for us in today's modern world:
Thinking of grandparents, of their testimony of love and fidelity to life, reminds us of the Biblical figures of Abraham and Sarah, of Elizabeth and Zechariah, of Joachim and Anne, as well as of the elderly Simeon and Anna and even Nicodemus: they all remind us that at every age the Lord asks each one for the contribution of his or her own talents.
Above all, from a Christian point of view grandparents are never a burden and should be viewed as an essential part of the family and society.
We all learn from the wisdom of our elders and caring for grandparents gives us the opportunity to practice the Corporal Works of Mercy.
Not only that, when grandparents suffer from old age, they are able to offer those suffering up in union with Jesus, for the salvation of their family.
Nothing is wasted and grandparents need to remain a vital part of our world.
