Q: Should I ask (if so, how) my son and daughter-in-law, who are otherwise practicing their Catholic faith sincerely and consistently, why they are not having children? They are 31 and 30 years old, respectively, and have been married five years. They are both financially very well off. They are both from fairly large families, so it is familiar to them. – Elizabeth
Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC
A: Your desire for grandchildren is understandable, and your apparent love of big families is admirable.
Whether and how to bring up the topic would depend on lots of factors that only you could gauge.
There might well be other factors unknown to you; for what transpires between spouses can be very secret and sacred.
If you have a good relationship with your son and his wife, you should be able to broach the subject respectfully and delicately.
In the meantime, it would be good to intensify your prayers for them.
They are living in a very anti-child world and might not enjoy the kind of support from their contemporaries that past generations of young parents had.
Count on my prayers.
