Holy Mary, Mother of the Lord, you remained faithful when the disciples...
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ARTIST: Br. Mickey McGrath, OSFS
ARTWORK NARRATIVE:
Good Saint Ann and Saint Joachim,
parents of Mary and grandparents to Jesus,
be with me and all grandparents
that we may be wise and loving,
may share our time and stories and sense of humor,
and may enjoy and not spoil too much the grandchildren
who are close to our hearts,
for they are the sign of God's life to us.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
be with our grandchildren and all other grandchildren
that they may love and respect their grandparents
and all older people,
may remember to call,
visit or write,
and grow in wisdom,
age and grace before God.
Amen.
Their feast day is July 26.
In the Scriptures, Matthew and Luke furnish a legal family history of Jesus, tracing ancestry to show that Jesus is the culmination of great promises. Not only is his mother's family neglected, we also know nothing factual about them except that they existed. Even the names Joachim and Anne come from a legendary source written more than a century after Jesus died.
The heroism and holiness of these people, however, is inferred from the whole family atmosphere around Mary in the Scriptures. Whether we rely on the legends about Mary's childhood or make guesses from the information in the Bible, we see in her a fulfillment of many generations of prayerful persons, herself steeped in the religious traditions of her people.
The strong character of Mary in making decisions, her continuous practice of prayer, her devotion to the laws of her faith, her steadiness at moments of crisis and her devotion to her relatives"all indicate a close-knit, loving family that looked forward to the next generation even while retaining the best of the past.
Joachim and Anne"whether these are their real names or not"represent that entire quiet series of generations who faithfully perform their duties, practice their faith and establish an atmosphere for the coming of the Messiah, but remain obscure.
This is the "feast of grandparents." It reminds grandparents of their responsibility to establish a tone for generations to come: They must make the traditions live and offer them as a promise to little children. But the feast has a message for the younger generation as well. It reminds the young that older people's greater perspective, depth of experience and appreciation of life's profound rhythms are all part of a wisdom not to be taken lightly or ignored.
