Today
is the feast of saints Anne and Joachim, which is the Church’s equivalent of
National Grandparents’ Day. Tradition says that this couple—the parents of
Jesus’ mother, Mary, and grandparents of Jesus—were upright and faithful people
who struggled with infertility and turned to God in prayer. Upon being blessed
with a daughter, they dedicated her to God in the temple.
Saints Anne and Joachim keep us in touch
with the humanness of Mary and Jesus, who, like us, were part of a family and
were shaped by their interactions with their parents and grandparents. Anne and
Joachim reinforce the critical role of grandparents: to model faithfulness and
perseverance in difficult times and the importance of turning to God when we
are in distress. In dedicating their beloved daughter to God, they also taught
all of us that we are not to cling to the people we love but allow God to lead
them on their own journey.
This day of remembrance of saints Anne and Joachim reminds me of the refrain of the song We Are by Ysaye M. Barnwell:
We are our grandmother's prayers
We are our grandfather's dreamings
We are the breath of our ancestors
We are the Spirit of God
May saints Anne and Joachim bless all
grandparents today and give them the strength to be a source of constancy, love,
and guidance for their progeny.
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