You may know them as grandma and grandpa or Ong and Ba, but do you know their real name? Do you know about them? If you have read the Gospel of Matthew or Luke, you may have seen the genealogy section where Jesus’ family line is traced all the way back to King David and even further to Adam. There are A LOT of names, but the Gospel writers deliberately did this to show that God is faithful to His promise to send a Savior. Well, that family tree is from St. Joseph’s ancestral line; however, the Blessed Virgin Mary’s family is not even mentioned once in the Bible! Even the names of Jesus’ maternal grandparents, Joachim and Anne, are taken from legend and non-Biblical texts. Though we may not know much, we can get a good sense of how they were like when we look to Mary.
Joachim and Anne were thought to have lived in Nazareth where they lived in relative wealth. They would give much of their money to help the poor. They also tithed to their local temple as devout Jews. However, their offerings to the temple were rejected! You see, the couple was elderly at this point and they had not produced a child yet. This was seen as a sign that God may not be pleased with them. So in response, Joachim retreated to the desert to fast and do penance for 40 days in order to make up for what he thought was his fault. His wife stayed home and was so upset about this that she prayed fervently and promised God that if she had a child, she would consecrate that child to Him. Eventually, angels would appear to the couple separately to tell them they would have a child. The couple was overjoyed! It is traditionally believed that when Mary was about three years old, Joachim and Anne took her to the temple in Jerusalem to present and consecrate her to God.
Even though the account of their lives is short, we can still learn some things from the life of St. Joachim and St. Anne:
Spiritual muscle memory. When we look at St. Joachim’s pretty intense reaction to go to the desert to fast, we might be confused. St. Joachim and St. Anne were probably very confused too, but they did what was natural to them. St. Joachim retreated to the desert because it allowed for him to empty himself of disordered attachment and grow in reliance on God. This prepared him for the great mission of leading his family and raising the Mother of God. Prayer could seem tedious at times, but maybe we can see it as working out our body, mind, and soul. When we keep doing it regularly, it becomes much easier for our body and mind to focus on God when hard times come because we already have the muscle memory to turn to God!
Give to God your best. No, God did not choose Abel’s offering over Cain’s because he did not like vegetables. God chose Abel’s offering because he gave his best to God, while Cain just gave an offering to fulfill an obligation. Like Abraham, Joachim and Anne withheld nothing from God. They were willing to take their only child and offer her to God to be raised in the temple in His service. God does not ask us to be perfect because we can’t do it on our own! Instead, what God asks from us is the genuine desire and will to love Him. So when you enter into prayer, don’t be afraid to bring to God your troubles, joys, and everything in between!
Know your grandparents! It can be very easy to forget about our grandparents sometimes, except on Lunar New Year or Christmas, but they can have a big impact on how you live your faith. Pope Francis even says that his grandparents taught him how to pray and form a spiritual life. While it can seem like a big generational difference, Pope Francis notes that “St. Joachim and St. Anne were a part of a long chain of people who had transmitted their faith and love for God, expressed in the warmth and love of family life, down to Mary…children and the elderly build the future of peoples: children because they lead history forward, the elderly because they transmit the experience and wisdom of their lives.” If you are not familiar with your grandparents, why not start talking to them more often? You might learn a thing or two!
Here is a good prayer to look to pray for your grandparents:
Dear Saints Joachim and Anne,
Pray that our families may grow in holiness,
And that our homes may become grace-filled sanctuaries of love.
By your powerful intercession,
Protect and guide all our grandparents
That they may be great examples of faith
Amen.
Be awesome and blossom 🌱
By: anh Daniel
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