Last week, I made a one-day trip to Los Angeles at the invitation of the Saint Thomas More Society in that archdiocese to preach at their annual Red Mass. The celebration was delightful, and it allowed me to meet some of the fine people from the legal community from that local Church and to pray with Archbishop José Gomez, the shepherd of that local Church.

I was also blessed on my flight to LAX with meeting a wonderful and immensely proud grandmother who was one of the flight attendants. She recognized me and found an opportunity to share her great pride in her grandchildren, one of whom brought her special joy because recently he was able to clarify for a person who misunderstood our Catholic tradition of honoring our Blessed Mother. Evidently, that person had said that we Catholics worship Mary. The young man said that we Catholics only worship God, but we honor and venerate Mary – the Mother of God. Grandma could not have been more delighted because she said that she had recently shared that specific information with her grandson.

Grandparents are so important in the faith formation of their youngsters. Parents, of course, remain the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith, as obviously were the parents of that young man, but grandma put the icing on the cake, as grandparents everywhere so often do in shaping the spiritual development of young people.

Pope Francis has given special attention to the gifts and importance of grandparents in our lives – even setting aside a special Sunday devoted to grandparents close to the July feast day of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Mother and Jesus’ own grandparents.

The pandemic has interfered, in many cases, with the time that kids can spend with their grandparents – especially if they live in different parts of the world. I have heard from many grandparents that this separation has been one of the most painful consequences of COVID-19.

As we approach the holiday season this year, I pray that many families will be able to be together – perhaps for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. I hope that is the case for any grandchildren who have missed being with their grandparents – and vice versa. There are faith lessons to be shared and the warmth of family closeness that makes the holy season more than just a time for presents and elaborate meals. It is a time for family hearts to be united.

I don’t know if that proud grandmother lives in the same town as her grandchildren. Since she is an airline employee, perhaps her flight privileges will allow her greater access to those important young lives that mean so much to her. I am sure that there are still other faith lessons that she would like to impart and that her grandchildren will need to learn about our Catholic heritage and traditions.

(Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, writes his “What I Have Seen and Heard” column for the Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.)