3 eggs

1 large cup sugar

1 large cup walnuts (chopped)

1 large cup dates (chopped fine)

1 tbsp flour

Mix dates and flour

1 tsp baking powder

Mix above with fork in above order

Put in greased and flowered pan (8×8)

Also put pan with 2 cups water in oven

Bake at 325 (electric), 335 (gas), ½ hour

Cut into small squares

Top with whipping cream if desired (recommended)

This is a recipe for “Date Pudding” handwritten and handed down by my grandfather. Every Thanksgiving, Christmas or other special dinner, my grandfather and I- and only he and I- made this dessert. I am not sure why it is called “pudding”, since it was really more like cookies, but it was delicious.

My grandfather, Frederick George Brandhuber, was born of German immigrants in Northwest Ohio. He had the greatest job in the world as far as I was concerned. He was an engineer on a train for the New York Central Railroad. Until I was 12 years old, I road trains for free. It is still my favorite form of transportation.

Since I lived with my grandparents during the Second World War, I was very close to them. I was their first grandchild and according to my brother and sister, I was spoiled rotten.

They were my mother’s parents. I never knew my father’s parents. They were born in the late 19^th Century and knew a world that was vastly different from the world I know, which was vastly different from the world of today. Without that connection between the generations, much of the wisdom they gave me would have been lost.

That’s what grandparents do. They bridge a missing hap in the history of our lives.

Grandparents are wonderful people because they have more time to give that busy parents done always have.

Grandparents are always telling stories about what it was like when they were young. And their stories are entertaining, unlike the disguised parental admonition, “When I was your age. . .”

From a child’s perspective, grandparents lived a long, long time ago. And grandparents are notorious for letting children do things parents would never allow.

I know one grandparent who has a sign in her house that says, “What happens in Grandma’s house, stays in Grandma’s house.”

One in ten children in this country lives with a grandparent. That about 8 million children. Many times, when parents are unable to take complete care of their children, parents trust their parents whom they know will gladly help in raising a child. Thus, grandparents help offer the care, love and nurture every child needs in whatever family they live in.

The grandparents of Jesus, whoever they were, bridged not just a generation, but an entire historical era- what we now call B.C, Before Christ and A.D, the Year of the Lord.

Today’s gospel is about the parents of John the Baptist, by tradition cousins of Jesus. Jesus lived, learned and loved in the context of family. An unusual family, to be sure.

Like every family, it had its ups and downs. In a society like theirs and a small village like theirs, everyone knew everyone else’s business. We have hints from the gospel stories that there were rumors about Mary’s pregnancy, unusual events about the birth of Jesus and how Jesus basically ran away in the Temple of Jerusalem for 3 days when he was 12 years old. Since his Cousin John’s father was a priest in that temple, it’s not farfetched to imagine Jesus staying with them while his parents frantically looked for him.

Last month, Pope Francis hosted a gathering of grandparents at the Vatican. For only the 3^rd time, Retired Pope Benedict was present in public. Pope Francis welcomed him as “the grandfather of all grandfathers.” He went on to say. “I have said many times that it gives me great pleasure that he lives here in the Vatican, because it is like having a wise grandfather at home.”

There’s only 10 years difference in age between them. Pope Francis is 77 and Retired Pope Benedict is 87. I would say they are like brothers, who am I to judge?

In all my years of parish ministry, there is one issue grandparents have told me they worry about the most. I am sure this is not only in Catholic families. What grandparents tell me is that they are concerned that their grandchildren keep the faith. It is that faith that sustained their grandparents and they pray that the historical connection not be lost.

When I celebrate Mass in our churches today, I see mostly older people. It was not like that when I was a child. It is a major crisis in our church. We need children in our churches.

I remember when I was pastor in McCall how every year the Bishop Kelly cross country team would come to mass. They were always the best dressed, best behaved people in the church. They didn’t contribute much to the collection basket, but I know the regular parishioners would gladly have paid them just for being with us.

Someday, you students will grow old and these will be the good old days. You will be able to tell stories to your grandchildren how they used to have cars that ran on gasoline and there were ancient devices called “televisions”. Your grandchildren will laugh, but they will be very curious to hear how things were way back in the year 2014.

This Thanksgiving will remind me of the times when my parents would tell me that we were going to dinner at Granddad and Grandmother’s house. I was always very excited because I would get to help my Grandfather make Date Pudding.

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