Leaving a Legacy
With a few exceptions, most of us will probably be forgotten within a few generations after our death. Perhaps I’m a pessimist, but I think most people would be hard pressed to name all of their great grandparents, let alone their great great grandparents. Thus it is that, for most of us, we will die, decay, and be forgotten, at least on this side of eternity. There are a few exceptions to this trend, however. Those individuals who are remembered long after they are gone were typically either incredibly holy or incredibly evil. Herod: mass murderer. St. Therese of Lisieux (a poor gal who died in rural France at the age of 24): incredibly holy. By my estimate, most of us probably don’t want to be remembered for being incredibly evil. Who would want to be known for slaughtering innocent children after all? (RIP Margaret Sanger). As such, if we want to be remembered, if we want to leave a legacy, we should probably aim to be incredibly holy.
Today would have been the 103rd birthday of my maternal grandfather. I never met him, as he died nearly two decades before I was born. While I never did meet him, though, I am certainly grateful for him, as he entirely changed the course of my family tree. As I’m told, he was a nice devoted Catholic bachelor when he met the woman who would become his wife. She was a Lutheran. However, he was supposedly one of the kindest and holiest people she had ever known, and she later converted to Catholicism. The two went on to have six children, all of whom were raised Catholic. My grandfather died relatively young and did not live long enough to meet a single grandchild. One might think that was the end of his story. However, his second oldest child, my mother, continued to practice the Catholic faith, and later married. Like her father, her spouse was not Catholic. After twenty-six years of marriage, my dad converted. Because of her father’s influence, my mother was determined to raise me in the faith. I, now a father myself, am committed to raising my daughter and any future children in the faith. Again, thanks to the influence of my grandfather. God willing, my grandchildren and great grandchildren will continue to be raised in the faith. Again, thanks to the kindness and holiness of a man who died over four decades ago. While my grandchildren and great grandchildren probably won’t remember the name of my grandfather, they’ll ultimately have him to thank, for doing his part to pass on the one, true, holy, Catholic, and apostolic faith.
Even if we aren’t remembered by name a few hundred years from now, we can live a life of such holiness and virtue today, that we change the course of someone’s life several generations down the road. Certainly my dad would not be Catholic today without the influence and life of my grandfather. Thus it is that even with our earthly bodies decaying in the grave, we could still play a pivotal role in making someone into a saint generations from now. I imagine one of the many blessings of the Beatific Vision is it becoming fully known to us who all helped us get there, whether we knew them in our earthly life, or not. Indeed, I hope to one day be able to thank my family’s long dead patriarch who, if I’m lucky enough to make it, would have helped get me to Heaven.
Happy birthday, grandpa. Requiescat in pace.
Liam
02/15/2025
