Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
I don’t know about you, but I haven’t thought much about Mary, Jesus’ mother, as a little girl, or about her parents and how they raised her. I’m aware that Mary’s mother is St. Anne and her father is St. Joachim, and have seen some lovely images of St. Anne holding Mary on her lap, but beyond that I haven’t really thought much about Mary’s childhood.
Today the church celebrates the feast of Saints Anne and Joachim, which gives us the opportunity to reflect on their role as parents and the importance of them passing on their faith, which was a Jewish faith, to Mary. The first reading from Sirach (44:1,10-15) refers to those who live on/endure through the fruit of their virtuous lives and through their families because of God’s covenant with them.
Sometimes as a parent I wonder, even worry, if my husband and I are doing a good job raising our children, passing our faith onto them, encouraging the development of their own spiritual lives. It feels like an overwhelming role at times, one that I worry we might not be fulfilling adequately despite our best intentions. I try to take these worries to prayer, often, and trust that the Holy Spirit is guiding us and working in our children’s lives in ways that we may never even realize. Sure, we have given them the foundations of our faith, including the sacraments at the appropriate ages, but it doesn’t ensure that they will develop their own spirituality that will continue with them when they leave home. We can only lay the foundation, do the best we can to live a good example, and then let go and trust in God.
I think of Mary and the important role her parents played in her spiritual development, surely not knowing that they were preparing their young daughter to be the mother of the Messiah! They prepared the soil for the seed to be planted and grow.
Mary has been called Jesus’ first disciple; so, we can read today’s brief gospel passage (Matthew 13: 16-17) with her in mind as Jesus was addressing his disciples, “Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Mary’s eyes and ears were open; she was ready to see and hear what was to be revealed to her.
Are our eyes open? Are our ears open? Or would we/are we missing what God is trying to reveal to us? Being grounded in prayer, scripture, and the sacraments prepares our soil for what God has planted. Like Mary and her parents, Anne and Joachim, may our eyes and ears, and the eyes and ears of our children, be blessed and open.
—Eileen Miller