PARENTS ARE THE FIRST EDUCATORS AND CATECHISTS UNTO THEIR CHILDREN (HOMILY FOR THE MEMORIAL OF SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNE

HOMILY FOR THE MEMORIAL OF SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNE

Jeremiah 14:17-22; Matthew 13:36-43

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the maternal grandparents of our Lord Jesus Christ and the parents-in-law of St. Joseph.  The celebration of today takes us through the memory lane of those who introduced Jesus and Mary to us. Hence, the subtle misconception of the origin of the Blessed Virgin Mary is perfectly clarified. She had parents in the persons of Joachim and Anne. Although the sacred scripture makes no mention of the names of the parents of our lady, credence is given to an old tradition that goes back to the 2nd century which holds that Joachim was Mary's father and Anne was her mother.

Tradition has it that Joachim and Anne lived in Nazareth. They belong to the tribe of Judah and the royal family of David. Right from the early times of the church, Joachim and Anne had been celebrated and honoured as saints. The assumption that the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary were holy as a result of the choice of Mary as the mother of God is quite reasonable. In the womb of the mother of Mary took place the immaculate conception. Hence, they deserve to be honoured among the saints. The date for the celebration of both saints coincides with the day of the death of Saint Anne. A basilica was dedicated in her honour in the year 550 and the feast was inserted into the Roman Missal in the year 1584 whereas, the feast of St. Joachim began to be celebrated in the year 1522. However, both had a unified feast following the revised calendar of 1969. 

Beloved in Christ, the word of God tells us: “By their fruits, you will know them”.  As faithful Jews and dutiful parents, they trained their daughter Mary in the fear of the Lord, according to the faith of Abraham, the mosaic law, the scriptures, prayer and charity. This was evident in the exemplary life of Mary e.g visit to her cousin Elizabeth, and in the manner, she was able to respond appropriately to the Angel Gabriel. 

In the celebration of today, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary invite us to cultivate a genuine parental attitude towards those placed under our care e.g our children, the orphans etc either in school or on playgrounds.  Parents need to foster, educate, promote and nurture the lives of their children untiringly. This is very significant because we leave in a world where many children are abandoned and left to their whims and caprices. Many parents have become so committed to their professions to the detriment of the education and care that should be given to their children by them as the first educators and catechists. Many children are not being cared for because as orphans non-biological parents don't want to take the responsibility of being foster parents to them. Hence, this results in the mal-education of the young. This celebration is indeed a wake-up call to our parents that the uprightness of the children has a lot to do with them. 

Let us pray through the intercession of Saints Joachim and Anne that God will bless our parents in their respective states of life either as young, old, retired, working class, sick or healthy. May He continue to grant them the grace and the zeal to live up to their parental obligations. May they never lack the needful resources to take good care of their children. May they never give up on their children, but with love and compassion continue to nurse them to Christian maturity. May their children remain sources of solace and comfort to them at all times. For those of them who are sick, may the healing hands of God rest upon them and grant them quick recovery, for the aged among them, may they find strength on the road of the cross. For couples looking for the fruit of the womb, through the intercession of Joachim and Annes may God wipe away their sorrow and grant them the gift of a child. Amen. 

Have a joyful day

Fr Remi osj