Many prophets and upright people longed to see what you see and to hear what you hear but neither saw nor heard it. The Church honors today saints Joachim and Anne, parents to the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandparents of our Lord Jesus Christ. The names of these two saints come to us through tradition (via the proto-Gospel of James that was written in the 2^nd century). Anne is the patroness of childless women and miners, while Joachim is the patron of fathers and grandparents.
Whereas devotion to these two saints has always been regarded as an extension of the affection Christians have always had for the Blessed Mother Mary, it should also be noted that devotion to the grandparents of Jesus is something that is firmly rooted in the Christian faith itself. Christianity as a religion is a celebration of the humanity of Jesus Christ, the Word of God-Incarnate. Christianity as a faith stems from the Word of God assuming a creaturely nature in order to lead the re-creation of the universe. In the Incarnation, God restores confidence in the created nature and “recruits” men and women in this important salvific mission. Joachim and Anne certainly responded to this call in their own special way, just as BV Mary did. As parents of the Blessed Mary, Joachim and Anne provided a home for their daughter, introducing her to the values and traditions of their community to ensure that she grew up as a responsible member of her community. As the Blessed Mary’s primary teachers, Joachim and Anne must be credited with molding Mary into an individual who was always open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. For it is because of the Blessed Mary’s upbringing that it became easy for her to say yes to the Lord.
This feast of Joachim and Anne is a reminder to us that we too have been called to partake in the universal mission of Jesus Christ, the salvation of the world. Jesus might not be descended from us (as he did from Joachim and Anne), but he nonetheless shares in our human DNA. Like Joachim and Anne who gave the Blessed Mary a home that prepared her for her mission, we too are called to prepare “homes” for Jesus by opening ourselves to the Spirit of God. Like Joachim and Anne, we are called to sainthood by blooming where God has planted us: in our families.