Should I try to bring my Grandmother to the Catholic faith?

[TheDumbFox]

My grandmother is 78 years old and has just started living with us since she is not able to take care of herself well anymore. She is also on hospice. My problem comes in when I realize that I love my grandmother and want her to have a happy death when the time comes. She is of a non-denominational background, but faith isn’t really a part of her life anymore. Should I try to bring her to the faith? My conscience says so, but if so, how? I don’t want to be rude or or there to be tension between us etc…I am definitely praying for her. Thoughts?

 

[masuwerte1]

If she’s of sound mind, you should ask what she wants. Has she attended services at all in the past few years, perhaps when her health was better? If she did, maybe it would be best to contact that congregation and ask for a pastoral visit. They likely have someone who could take her to church if she wants to go. If she doesn’t, I think you should respect that.

 

[JosephDColeman]

I volunteered for a hospice service for awhile and I was surprised how little people think of God when they are in such a position. I thought that everyone would turn religious when the end was in sight…instead I found people were concerned with things like their kids taking their farm against their will and nostalgia over foods they used to eat when they were younger.

I would just ask her if she has peace in God and offer to help her understand better if she has questions/doubts. I’ve never been good at evangelism so I don’t really have good advice in that regard…but I will say that I wouldn’t let your fear or doubt prevent you from bringing it up if you feel like it’s the right thing to do. You have the rest of your life ahead of you and it’s certainly better to regret having tried and failed than not having brought it up at all. Besides, God can do miraculous things with the smallest act done in charity. You may not be able to convert her to the Catholic faith, but perhaps God has something in mind for her that He wants to use you for…and maybe it’s something as simple as her seeing you care enough about her to bring it up. At the end of the day all you can do is plant the seed. Trust in the Lord!

 

[Irishmom2]

Maybe just invite her to come to mass with you and take her out to breakfast afterward. You can have a conversation about faith in general and see what she says before doing anything else. She may be comfortable with where she is in her faith journey.

 

[Viki63]

You don’t say whether she would be able to attend mass, which might be difficult if she’s on hospice. You might invite her if she is able to get out.
I would just be honest, and say something like, “Grandma, I love you very much, and I want you to be in heaven when I get there. Jesus is very important in my life, and I wonder if you have a relationship with him.”
That might open the door for her to talk about her faith, or she might just dismiss it. If she does, you could add, “I just want you to know that I’m here to talk about it if you ever want to. Because I know that God loves you even more than I do.”