Heritage and Holiness

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, invite us to reflect on the role of family in supporting our sense of the sacred, our ability to learn, and our action in support of our family and community.

In Cape Breton,Unama'kik, the Mi'kmaq people celebrate St. Anne's Day

The reading from the Book of Sirach introduces us to the Wisdom in the Israelite heritage.

* [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). (Sirach, CHAPTER 44, n.d.)

Psalm 132 is a song for a liturgical ceremony.

* [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. (Psalms, PSALM 132, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims 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. (Matthew, CHAPTER 13, n.d.)

Cindy Costanzo reflected on how the scripture for today inspired her to recall her most frequent gratitudes over the years and the words grace, relationships, and open heart came to her mind. The scripture today is very much about grace, relationships and having an open, receptive heart.

When I became more open and receptive to the word of God (seed) the relationship I had with God grew. As my relationship with God grew my relationships with my family, friends, neighbors and co-workers became more kind, caring and loving (fruitful life or a good harvest). Over the years as I have cultivated my faith, my relationships have improved, my gratitude for my faith and relationships has grown, and when the trials and challenges of everyday life or a major event appears I am stronger and more prepared to seek God for direction and able to depend on those with whom I have built a relationship.

Today this scripture also reminds me to not compare or judge where others are on their faith journey but to continue to be a disciple of Jesus, to share my love and gratitude for my faith, and to accept myself as an imperfect parent, grandparent, friend, and co-worker and as someone who is open to be remolded and reshaped by her faith in God. (Costanzo, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “The Lord sows good seeds in our heart,” by Chromatius (died 406 AD).

"The Lord clearly points out that he is the sower of good seeds. He does not cease to sow in this world as in a field. God's word is like good seed in the hearts of people, so that each of us according to the seeds sown in us by God may bear spiritual and heavenly fruit." (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 51.1)

[Note: Chromatius was an early Christian scholar and bishop of Aquileia, Italy. He was a close friend of John Chrysostom and Jerome. He died in 406 AD. Jerome described him as a "most learned and most holy man."] (Schwager, n.d.)

As we seek to learn from the wisdom our anger has to teach us, Brian McLaren offers this prayer of blessing:

May you be blessed to see in your anger, not just a danger, but an opportunity. May you be blessed to see in your anger a window into what you love. May you be blessed to see in your anger a pathway into sadness. And may your sadness sweeten your anger until it is transformed into the energy of love.   

May you come to see indifference, complacency, apathy, and self-centeredness within you as signs—not of your lack of anger, but of your lack of love.   

May you welcome anger as a source of information about what you love, about what needs protection and repair, and about the courage and strength needed to make this world a more joyful and peaceful place.  

May your anger lead you to sadness, and may your sadness lead you to love, so that you meet the tears of things with a heart of bottomless compassion.    

May you be angry about what deserves anger, and may you experience such a transformation of your own anger that you become an agent of loving transformation in our world.  

May the deep wisdom of God guide you deep into your anger so that you may join with Jesus in weeping for the world, and so that you groan with the creative Spirit in the loving labor pains of a better tomorrow. (McLaren, n.d.) 

 

We offer thanksgiving for our heritage from which we connect to faith, hope, and charity as the guide to a full life

References

Costanzo, C. (2025, July 25). Daily Reflection July 26, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved July 26, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-july-26-2025 

Matthew, CHAPTER 13. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/13? 

McLaren, B. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved July 26, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/wisdom-in-an-age-of-outrage-weekly-summary/ 

Psalms, PSALM 132. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/132?11 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Guarding the Good Seed of God's Word in Our Heart. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 26, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jul26 

Sirach, CHAPTER 44. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/sirach/44?1 

Ancestral Support in Fruitfulness

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary, today, the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, challenge us to respond to the work of our ancestors in preparing a path for our participation in the work of preparing our environment to be open to the Way of Jesus to fullness of life.

Faith of our Ancestors

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). (Sirach, CHAPTER 44 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Prophet Jeremiah proclaims the Restoration of Israel.

* [3:14–18] A remnant of Israel (v. 14) will reunite with Judah (v. 18). The former Israelite community, represented by the ark of the covenant, will be replaced by a universal alliance, symbolized by Jerusalem, the Lord’s throne, to which all nations will be gathered (v. 17). (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)

The response in Jeremiah celebrates gathering Israel.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus explains the Parable of the Sower.

* [13:18–23] See Mk 4:14–20; Lk 8:11–15. In this explanation of the parable the emphasis is on the various types of soil on which the seed falls, i.e., on the dispositions with which the preaching of Jesus is received. The second and third types particularly are explained in such a way as to support the view held by many scholars that the explanation derives not from Jesus but from early Christian reflection upon apostasy from the faith that was the consequence of persecution and worldliness, respectively. Others, however, hold that the explanation may come basically from Jesus even though it was developed in the light of later Christian experience. The four types of persons envisaged are (1) those who never accept the word of the kingdom (Mt 13:19); (2) those who believe for a while but fall away because of persecution (Mt 13:20–21); (3) those who believe, but in whom the word is choked by worldly anxiety and the seduction of riches (Mt 13:22); (4) those who respond to the word and produce fruit abundantly (Mt 13:23). (Matthew, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)

Larry Hopp comments that this parable points out that we will not always be successful; the seeds He sows through us will not always produce the results we can see.   We must continue sowing.  We are called not to just hear and understand, but also to bear fruit.  Jesus is asking us to not only be part of the planting, but also to be part of the joyous harvest.  It is only through His agape love that He can orchestrate such a harvest through us. 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your truly incredible love and seemingly endless patience.  You care about each of us and shower us with your GRACE.  Give us your eyes to see and ears to hear the cries of this world.  Use each of us as we reach out and touch the lives of those you have placed within our small personal world.  Help us to be more like you each and every moment of our lives.  In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen (Hopp, 2024)

Don Schwager quotes “God's word is like good seed sown in the heart,” by Jerome (347-420 AD).

"'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) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 13:18-23 comments that Jesus’ work in us is not done. He wants to make the “soil” of our hearts rich so that we can produce “a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold” (Matthew 13:23). And so he lovingly invites us into his work of reclamation. He wants us to pick up our trowel and join him in his work of tilling.

How? Notice that those in Jesus’ parable who fell away initially heard “the word of the Kingdom,” but they did not understand it or persevere in nourishing the seed of that word (Matthew 13:19). Understanding God’s word and then acting on it are the keys to bearing fruit. Our tilling of the soil requires that we dig deep into the Scriptures. Then, as we pray and listen to the Lord, he will help us discover what his word means for our lives. But it’s not all up to us. We still need Jesus, our “Good Farmer,” to water and fertilize the soil of our hearts with his grace so we can do whatever he asks of us.

Our God is so faithful. Let’s trust him to bring about an abundant harvest!

“Jesus, thank you for the work you are doing in me so that I can bear fruit for your kingdom.” (Meditation on Matthew 13:18-23, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes that our texts referencing Joachim and Anne come from apocryphal books. Jeremiah exhorts the people who may have fallen into a pattern of superstition to focus on the return to Mt. Zion in worship and righteousness. Friar Jude notes that the explanation of the Parable of the Sower  emphasizes the need to use our intellect, strength, and possessions to work with the Spirit to prepare the “good soil”.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, emphasizes how inner transformation needs to extend outward to the world. Step 12, Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs, found a way to expose and transform that perpetual adolescence by telling us early on that we must serve others. Supporting others in their healing is not an option, not something we might eventually be “called” to after thirty-five religious retreats and fifty years of church services. It isn’t something we do when we finally get our act together. No; we don’t truly comprehend any spiritual thing until we give it away. Spiritual gifts increase only by “using” them. 

The author of the Letter of James always insists on orthopraxy instead of mere verbal orthodoxy: “To listen to the word and not obey it is like looking at your own features in a mirror, and then, after a quick look, going off and immediately forgetting what you look like” (1:23–24). For James, to “actively put it into practice is to be happy in all that one does” (1:25) and “if good works do not accompany faith, it is quite dead” (2:17). James is a unique apostle of the Twelve Step behavioral approach. [1] (Rohr, n.d.)

We are anointed by our Baptism to be a priest, prophet, and leader, energized by our relationship with Jesus, to accept the prompting of the Spirit to prepare the good soil by our actions for the work of God in the plentiful harvest.

References

Hopp, L. (2024, July 26). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/072624.html 

Jeremiah, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/3?14 

Matthew, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/13?18 

Meditation on Matthew 13:18-23. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/07/26/1032949/ 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Not for Ourselves Alone. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/not-for-ourselves-alone/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=jul26 

Sirach, CHAPTER 44 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/sirach/44 

Ancestors Honoured

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, invite us to ponder with gratitude the role of our parents and grandparents in our journey to truth, love and beauty.

Parents and Grandparents

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). (Sirach, CHAPTER 44 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 132 praises the Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion.

* [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. (Psalms, PSALM 132 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus explains 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. (Matthew, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)

Cindy Costanzo offers a prayer on the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is part of a reflection on the texts chosen by the USCCB for today.

A prayer to Saint Joachim and Saint Anne…thank you for giving us your blessed daughter. You raised her to be faithful, loving, resilient, and strong. She said yes to our loving God and because of this faith gave us an opportunity for eternal life.  Thank you. (Costanzo, 2023)

The Daily Scripture net and the Word Among Us  and Friar Jude Winkler also reflect on the texts chosen by the USCCB for today.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Brother Lawrence (1611–1691) who was a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery, where he primarily worked in the kitchen. His reflections, known as Practice of the Presence of God, have inspired countless Christians and other spiritual seekers to simple practices of contemplation and presence. He begins by encouraging us to take brief moments of pause during our busy days to enhance our awareness of God’s presence. Carmen Acevedo Butcher offers a modern translation: Brother Lawrence teaches that this practice begins with a faith that God is truly present with us in all times and circumstances:

We must carefully consider what qualities we most need to be kind. Which are the most difficult for us to develop, which ways of harming ourselves and others do we most often fall into, and which are the most frequent and predictable of our falls? At the moment of our struggle, we must turn back to God with complete confidence. Be still in the presence of divine majesty. Respect God humbly, telling them our heartaches and our weaknesses, and asking them lovingly for the help of their grace. This is how in our fragility we find in God our strength. (Rohr, 2023)

We have the ongoing influence of our ancestors, interpreted with the help of the Spirit, to guide our transformation in faith, hope, and love.

References

Costanzo, C. (2023, July 26). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved July 26, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/072623.html 

Matthew, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 26, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/13?1 

Psalms, PSALM 132 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 26, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/132 

Rohr, R. (2023, July 26). Practice of the Presence — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/practice-of-the-presence-2023-07-26/ 

Sirach, CHAPTER 44 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 26, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/sirach/44