The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary invite us to contemplate the role of our parents and grandparents in forming our spiritual and moral lives.
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| Grandparent adventure |
It is the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The reading from the Book of Sirach offers praise of Israel’s great 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 declares God’s promise of favor to the Davidic dynasty (Ps 132:11–12) and to Zion (Ps 132:13–17).
* [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 from Matthew presents Jesus Word on the privilege of discipleship.
* [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
Maureen McCann Waldron comments that being faithful isn’t about the grand gestures or the extraordinary. It is really about the smallest everyday moments in life. Getting children to daycare. Making sure an older parent gets to the doctor. Not getting annoyed at a tiresome co-worker. Making a meal with love. Doing laundry again. And again.
Yet in that hard life, Anne and Joachim were faithful. They prayed and went to the synagogue together where they would have listened to the scripture. And they taught Mary what it means to be faithful. To say Yes to a life of lugging water, gathering firewood and washing clothes. There was no glamour about it, but she learned that God was always with her. She learned to rely on God’s support. She was prepared to say Yes.4
Don Schwager quotes “God's word is like good seed sown in the heart,” by Saint Jerome (347-420 AD) and he applies it to the Gospel for the Liturgy celebrated when today is not a feast day. (Matthew 13:18-23).
"'And the one sown upon good ground is he who hears the word, understands it and bears fruit.' Even as on bad ground there were three diverse situations (by the path, upon rocky ground and among thorns), so too on good ground the diversity is of three types: fruit of one hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold. Both in one and the other there is a change that takes place in the will, not in the nature itself. In both the unbelievers and believers it is the heart that receives the seed. 'The wicked one comes,' he says, 'and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.' In the second and third cases, he says, 'That is he who hears the word.' In the explanation of the good ground, he is the one who hears the word. First we must listen, then understand; after understanding, we must bear the fruits of good teaching and yield fruit either one hundredfold, sixtyfold or thirtyfold." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 2.13.23)5
A post by Franciscan Media reflects on Saints Joachim and Anne. 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.
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.6
Emily Budden shares that to symbolize the Mi’kmaq people’s allegiance to the French and as a sign of good faith, Grand Chief Membertou and 21 of his family members were baptized in 1610. In 1628, the Mi’kmaq adopted St. Anne as their patron saint, but in doing so remained true to their Mi’kmaq ways by continuing to hold Mawio’mi (a traditional gathering; a time for reflection, joy, sharing, goodwill, and the opportunity to connect with the Great Spirit) in traditional gathering places.
Source: https://2eyedhealth.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/chapel-island-photo.jpg?w=300&h=225
A photo of Chapel Island with ribbons of Saint Anne’s cloth.
So next time you are caring for a patient of Mi’Kmaq decent, take note of their ribbon and treat it with pride and respect, for it may be their only source of strength during this difficult time.7
A Google search for “St Anne Parish in Nova Scotia” brings several parish locations Eglise Ste. Anne is the oldest Acadian parish on mainland Nova Scotia. Acadians returning from exile had settled the area in 1767 and built a small chapel for worship. In 1799, Father Jean Mandé Sigogne arrived and officially founded the parish of Ste-Anne. The Beaton Institute has a photo of my parish as a boy, St Anne’s Church in Glace Bay.
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| Beaton Institute: St Anne's Parish, Glace Bay |
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the blessing of the Ten Commandments in freeing the people from living in terror about what God wanted of His people.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM invites us to read Howard Thurman’s thoughts on race and relationships.
On the other hand, if Christians practice brotherhood among Christians, this would be one limited step in the direction of a new order among men. Think of what this would mean. Wherever one Christian met or dealt with another Christian, there would be a socially redemptive encounter. They would be like the Gulf Stream or the Japanese Current tempering and softening the climate in all directions. Indeed the Christian would be a leaven at all levels of the community and in public and private living. Of course, such a situation may lend itself to all kinds of exploitation and betrayals—but the Christian would be one of the bulwarks of integrity in human relations in an immoral society.8
If being Christian does not demand that all Christians love each other and thereby become deeply engaged in experiencing themselves as human beings, it would seem futile to expect that Christians as Christians would be concerned about the secular community in its gross practices of prejudice and discrimination.
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