Saints Joachim and Anne: Celebrating God’s Promises
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
-Matthew 13:16-17
The Christian Faith is built on promises. First, there was the promise made to our first parents, when God declared to Eve the relationship that was ruptured through disobedience and self-seeking would be restored through the gift of a woman and her Child (see Genesis 3:15). Next, we can think of the promises—the commitments—God made with Noah, with Abraham and Sarah, and with Moses, out of which God created and called a Chosen People who would be uniquely his own. As the document Dei Verbum from the Second Vatican Council reminds us, “To this people which He had acquired for Himself, He so manifested Himself through words and deeds as the one true and living God that Israel came to know by experience the ways of God” (no. 14). Finally, there were the promises made to the prophets, through which God taught “this people to acknowledge Himself the one living and true God, provident father and just judge, and to wait for the Savior promised by Him” (Dei Verbum, no. 3).
Our understanding of these promises and the stories of how God—most often in unexpected ways—kept those promises is essential for our own understanding of who we are as people of faith and as God’s children (see Galatians 3:13-14, 4:4-7). This is our family story and we receive it as a gift, recognizing that we are the descendants of those who came before us and beneficiaries of their faith and their blessings (see Sirach 44:11).
These two themes of fulfilled promises and legacy are at the heart of the celebration of the July 26th Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As Pope Francis has reflected, “Saints Joachim and Anne were part of a long chain of people who had transmitted their faith and love for God, expressed in the warmth and love of family life, down to Mary, who received the Son of god in her womb and who gave him to the world, to us” (General Audience, July 26, 2013).
A contemporary icon of Saints Joachim and Anne with Mary, presented as the uppermost “branch” of the Tree of Jesse
This memorial is celebrated on the anniversary of the dedication of a basilica that was built in honor of Saint Anne in Constantinople in 550. It was only in the thirteenth century, however, that a liturgical celebration of Saint Anne made its way into Western Europe, and it was added to the Roman Missal in 1505. The liturgical memorial of Saint Joachim (originally celebrated on August 16, the day after the Solemnity of the Assumption) was only introduced in 1584. During the reforms of the liturgical calendar following the Second Vatican Council, the parents of Mary were given a common memorial, now sharing the date of the historic “feast” of Saint Anne. These two saints are most especially honored as the heavenly patrons of grandparents (honoring their special relationship with Jesus) and Saint Anne has come to be honored as special protector of miners and carpenters, as well as of Canada and many regions and cities around the world.
As we think about these two figures, we have to acknowledge that everything that has come down to us about them—including their names—is found only in early apocryphal writings (most especially the so-called Protoevangelium of James). This text tells us that Joachim and Anne were unable to conceive a child and that after Joachim had fasted for forty days in the desert, an angel appeared to each of them, foretelling the birth of a daughter.
Although there is no historical or scriptural support for this story, the traditions associated with Joachim and Anne remind us of the wonderful and unexpected ways God keeps God’s promises. Their presence in Jesus’ family tree also reminds us of how dynamic the Mystery of the Incarnation really is. When the Word became flesh in Jesus of Nazareth, it wasn’t an event that was somehow outside of history. Rather, it was in a specific time and place, within a specific family that the greatest act of divine intimacy took place. We’re reminded of this in the Prayer Over the Gifts used in the Mass for this memorial in which we ask God to “grant that we may merit a share in the same blessing which you promised to Abraham and his descendants.” This all speaks of the unfolding mystery of God’s plan, extending from Abraham, through the prophets, to Joachim and Anne, to Mary and, finally, to Jesus, and through him, to us.
Like our spiritual ancestors, we have also been caught up in the mystery we celebrate on this memorial. But rather than simply serve as an opportunity for devotion or sentimentality, we are being offered a moment of encounter with those generations of people who believed in God’s promise of the coming Messiah and who had prophesied and prepared for his arrival. In a homily preached for this memorial in 2022, Pope Francis observed: “Those who proceeded us have passed on to us a passion, a strength, a yearning, a flame that it is up to us reignite. It is not a matter of preserving ashes, but of rekindling the fire that they lit.” And then, inviting us to deeper reflection, Pope Francis continued:
“Sustained by those who are our roots, now it is our turn to bear fruit. We are the branches that must blossom and spread new seeds of history. Let us ask ourselves, then, a few concrete questions. As part of the history of salvation, in the light of those who went before me and loved me, what is it that I must now do? I have a unique and irreplaceable role in history, but what mark will I leave behind me? What am I passing on to those who will come after me? What am I giving of myself?”
The Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne is an opportunity for us to reflect on our own place within the unfolding story of salvation and to become more mindful on the impact of our decisions, our failings, and our faith for those who will come after us. What is the legacy that we are handing on to them? Are we living as good ancestors, helping to create in history of life and love?
As we celebrate these very special ancestors of Jesus and the mysteries enfolded in their lives, we also ask for the grace to cherish this family story which gives meaning and shape to our lives today, even as we look toward the future in which God will continue to fulfill promises in ways that go far beyond anything we might ask or imagine.
Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, pray for us!
O Lord, God of our Fathers,
who bestowed on Saints Joachim and Anne this grace,
that of them should be born the Mother of your incarnate Son,
grant, through the prayers of both,
that we may attain the salvation
you have promised to your people.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne
