Homily for Wednesday, 26 July 2017– Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne

Wednesday of the 16th week in Ordinary Time

Readings of the day: Sirach 44:1, 8, 10-15; Psalm 132:11, 13-14, 17-18; Matthew 13:16-17

“Let us now sing the praises of our ancestors in their generations.” I am drawn to this opening verse of our first reading this morning, from the book of Sirach, first because it is the verse printed on the cover of the necrology of my religious order, the Basilians, that is, the listing of all my brother Basilians who have gone before us to God since the order was founded back in 1822.

But our Church also gives us this reading to mark the feast day today of Sts. Joachim and Anne, Jesus’ grandparents, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our secular society celebrates a Grandparents’ Day on September 10 (I had to look this up). But might we consider today the Church’s Grandparents’ Day, a day to “sing the praises of our ancestors in their generations”; to “sing the praises” especially of Sts. Joachim and Anne? They are two important saints particularly for Canada. St. Joachim is the namesake of the first Catholic parish here in Edmonton. And St. Anne is a patron saint of the province of Quebec.

Above all, though, Sts. Joachim and Anne are grandparents; the grandparents of our Lord. And could we not hear in Jesus’ words today in Matthew’s Gospel a blessing especially to grandparents; to “our ancestors in their generations” as Sirach says?

Jesus says “to his disciples, ‘Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.’” Jesus blesses his disciples, who have seen and heard something “many righteous people” have not had the chance to see and hear. Jesus’ disciples, we among them, have seen and heard; experienced some sign of the kingdom of heaven. Of course, Jesus’ disciples were seeing and hearing him live in front of them.

Sts. Joachim and Anne are not mentioned among these disciples of Jesus; indeed they are not named anywhere in the Bible. We know of them by name only from writings in Church tradition more recent than the Biblical Gospels. Yet might Sts. Joachim and Anne have been among the crowds, receiving this blessing from their grandson? Might they, rather, have been among the “many righteous people” who never got to see and hear what the disciples of Jesus later got to see and hear this side of heaven?

This is hard to say. But, if Sts. Joachim and Anne were not standing there on the day Jesus blessed his disciples, might we imagine them as having been able to hold Jesus when he was very young, or hearing Jesus’ first words, or experiencing his other milestones? I have known first-hand the joy of my own parents and grandparents in experiencing these “firsts” of their grandchildren and great grandchildren. Could we not imagine the same experiences as those of Sts. Joachim and Anne?

And if we are able to imagine prayerfully these experiences Sts. Joachim and Anne might have had with Jesus, might we be more easily able to celebrate today as a “Grandparents’ Day” in the Church? To all of us who are grandparents or great-grandparents; to our grandparents gone before us or who never knew their grandchildren: Today especially our Church prays for you and entrusts you to the intercession of Sts. Joachim and Anne, as we “sing the praises of our ancestors in their generations.”