The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for Canada today invite us to contemplate the blessings that are connected to the faith of elders passed through the generations.
Faith of our fathers and mothers
The reading from the Book of Sirach is a hymn in honour of our ancestors.
* [44:1–15] The reader is here introduced to those people of Israel, later mentioned by name, who through various achievements and beneficial social activities have acquired great renown (vv. 1–8, 14–15); and also to those who, though forgotten, endure through the fruit of their virtues and through their families because of God’s covenant with them (vv. 9–15).1
Psalm 132 is a song of ascents.
* [Psalm 132] A song for a liturgical ceremony in which the ark, the throne of Israel’s God, was carried in procession to the Temple. The singer asks that David’s care for the proper housing of the ark be regarded with favor (Ps 132:1–5), and tells how it was brought to Jerusalem (Ps 132:6–10). There follows God’s promise of favor to the Davidic dynasty (Ps 132:11–12) and to Zion (Ps 132:13–17). The transfer of the ark to the tent in Jerusalem is described in 2 Sm 6.2
The Gospel of Matthew declares the privilege of discipleship as “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.”
* [13:16–17] Unlike the unbelieving crowds, the disciples have seen that which the prophets and the righteous of the Old Testament longed to see without having their longing fulfilled.3
Tamora Whitney, reflecting on the texts chosen by the USCCB today, also resonates with the long term effects of our decisions to take action as disciples of Christ.
Some small activity, some little deed, can turn someone to the Lord. It seems amazing that something so small can have such an amazing result. But like the mustard seed, like the yeast, little things can have big effects. And it's up to all of us to be good role models, be good examples, so we can be good stewards. We don't know whose lives we might touch and what effect we might have.4
The Living Space commentary on the day's Scripture readings for the feast of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne notes the story is really a legend. It comes mainly from a second century writing called the Proto-gospel of James.
Following the Second Vatican Council, their feasts were combined on 25 July. At Auray in Brittany, France, there was a very popular shrine to St. Anne in the early middle ages. In North America, there is a popular shrine to St Anne in Beaupre, about 30 km from the city of Quebec. It was on 13 March 1658 that French immigrants erected the first chapel there in her honour.5
The Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage was designated a national historic site of Canada because: as early as 1889, Indigenous people, including Cree, Dene, Blackfoot and Métis, have been coming to Lac Ste. Anne to celebrate the Feast of Saint Anne.
Saint Anne embodies, for many Indigenous people, the traditional importance of the grandmother figure; for the Indigenous people of Western and Northwestern Canada, it is an important place of social, cultural and spiritual rejuvenation, which are important aspects of the traditional summer gathering6
The Mi’kmaw of Potlotek First Nation have been welcoming out-of-towners, family, and friends since before 1742.
It was during 1742 that missionary priest Father Maillard said his first mass on Mniku. Mniku is a spiritual island adjacent to Potlotek First Nation. To gain access to the island, you must travel by boat. During the mission, boaters offer transportation to the island on a donation basis. More than 3000 people attend the four-day mission of St. Anne. The pilgrimage to Mniku honours our patron saint, Saint Anne. Join us and celebrate this time honoured event from July 25th-July 29th.7
The article from Franciscan Media about Saint Joachim and Saint Anne comments that 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 fulfilment of many generations of prayerful persons, herself steeped in the religious traditions of her people.
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.8
Barbara Holmes understands contemplation as the soul’s arising even in the midst of the most challenging crises humanity faces. Her new book Crisis Contemplation describes how this is the case.
In the midst of devastating crises, we are asked to do the counterintuitive. When the times call for anxiety, flight, or fight . . . [we are asked] to allow for the possibility of contemplative refuge, respite, and renewal. To slow down and be still is to allow both the source of our troubles and options for recovery to emerge. . . . Contemplation is not just an effective response to crisis. It can also arise during the most intense aspects of the event. When bodies are being tortured, when minds are pushed to the breaking point, the human spirit falls through the cracks of the crisis into the center of contemplation. Howard Thurman [1900–1981] referred to this inner space as an island, a place that cannot be breached without personal consent: “When all hope for release in this world seems unrealistic and groundless, the heart turns to a way of escape beyond the present order.” [1]9
Recognition of the many challenging crises of our elders, especially by the Indigenous people of this land, allows us to express gratitude for the faith we have experienced in the traditions they practiced.
References
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