We buried Grandpa on Good Friday. For me, he died with Jesus. The stark reality of his passing was magnified by the emptiness of the church, the covered statues and the fact that there could be no Eucharistic liturgy. But still the memories came rushing in: Walter’s steady kindness, his St. Gerard statue, his love of fishing, his time in the crow’s nest on a Merchant Marine vessel, and silly things like sardine sandwiches. Yuck!
What do you know about your grandparents, your great grandparents, your ethnic background? During this past holiday season thousands of people received DNA kits to search out their ethnic story and their biological identity, which are forever intertwined. Such searches can also be an occasion for spiritual enlightenment. Here is why.
1. Seeking our ancestors helps us understand ourselves. Pope St. John Paul II affirms this in his 1994 Letter to Families. “The genealogy of the person is the genealogy of the family.” It is good to explore our connections to others. This way we can find the roots of our talents and failings.
2. The lives and stories of our ancestors can offer invitations to a faith that may be dormant in our families. Stories of Walter’s faith challenge me. Once, during a hot day’s drive in Quebec, a bee flew into the car window and stung his hand. It became so swollen that he could not hold the steering wheel. “Don’t worry.” he told Grandma. “My mother showed me a healing spring once, just down the road from here.” Several miles later Walter gingerly immersed his hand in the spring and it came out totally healed. [That’s him: right front in 1922 photo]
3. Our DNA, in particular, points to ethnic groups and countries that are more than just groupings of people with the same biology and geography. These groups where most often primarily faith communities with the same spiritual DNA. We both come from French missionary-settlers of Montreal. It has been exciting to see their handwritten records in parish registries and imagine their daily lives.
4. The genealogy of every person ultimately rests in the divine. Therese can trace maternal DNA all the way back to the 1600s on Ile D’ Orleans, Quebec, not far from where our son lives. But there is more mitochondrial evidence going all the way back to the origins of the human race itself. This points toward God’s intervention as the creator of every unique person in history.
**by Therese. For more about uncovering and sharing family history click here.