Our devotion to Sts. Joachim and Anne ought not end in prayers alone, but in imitation of them. For grandparents, that means not underestimating one’s role.
By Fr. Thaddaeus Lancton, MIC
God prepares and fulfills His plan of salvation slowly, through many ordinary (even obscure) people. From the biblical narrative, we know nothing about perhaps the most famous grandparents of all, Sts. Joachim and Anne, grandparents of Jesus. We celebrate their feast day on June 26.
Joachim and Anne were the parents of Mary, and we have only the visions of mystics who provide the stories about her conception and childhood.
Their names are known to us through a second-century writing called the Proto-Evangelium of St. James. Certain Church Fathers and theologians (including St. Thomas Aquinas) argue that “Heli” in the Gospel of Matthew) is a variant of “Eliakim,” which shares the same root as “Jehoiakim” (Joachim). Such nicknames or second names are common in the New Testament (Nathanael/Bartholomew, Thomas/Didymus).
A crucial marital embrace
Before we fill in every detail, it is important to remember that our lives, even spiritual lives, depend on many other people. Our salvation in Jesus, our devotion to Mary, depends upon Sts. Joachim and Anne. Without their marital embrace, we would not have the mystery of the Immaculate Conception.
Too often, the Church is criticized for her teaching on sexual morality. However, this flows from the dignity of human sexuality, which is a cooperation with the mystery of a life-giving Spirit.
In Sts. Joachim and Anne, we witness what is possible through human love when opened to the presence of God. Parents cooperate with God’s salvific plan to create, redeem, and restore humanity to His image and likeness.
Immaculate upbringing
Likely, Sts. Joachim and Anne had no awareness of the Immaculate Conception that occurred in silence. Yet the angels must have marveled at the dawn of redemption, the foretelling of how sin is conquered in Jesus.
But this mystery did not end with Mary’s conception, for Sts. Joachim and Anne nurtured, educated, and provided for Mary in such a manner that she could remain immaculate throughout her life.
Recall that Adam and Eve also were immaculate, but they fell through sin. Mary, sinless in a world filled with sin, had an even more difficult task than Adam and Eve. Yet she could stand on the foundation provided by her parents, and she later handed on to Jesus what she first received, providing an atmosphere in Nazareth where He, too, could remain sinless for His entire life.
Honor your elders
For these reasons, devotion to Mary, and in particular, devotion to the Immaculate Conception, entails sincere veneration of Sts. Joachim and Anne. They, in a sense, were the human collaborators who made this mystery possible.
But our devotion to them ought not end in prayers alone, but in imitation of them. For grandparents, that means not underestimating one’s role. Pope Francis reminds grandparents that Jesus “calls us to follow Him in every age of life, and old age has a grace and a mission too, a true vocation from the Lord. Old age is a vocation. It is not yet time to ‘pull in the oars.’” This entails prayer, example, and teaching of the younger generations.
For parents, this entails treating grandparents as precious, turning to them for wisdom, and never casting them aside. “Their presence in families and communities is a precious one, for it reminds us that we share the same heritage and are part of a people committed to preserving its roots,” the pope says.
For us all, including children of all ages, Sts. Joachim and Anne remind us that Jesus took on flesh — and now is present in the Eucharist — because of ordinary family life. Are we capable of finding His presence, not only hidden in the Host, but in the give and take of family life?
Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us — and all grandparents!