Memorial of Saints
Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(Exodus 20:1-17; Matthew 13:18-23)
Grandparents sometimes kid, “If we knew how much fun it
would be to be grandparents, we wouldn’t have bothered having children but have
had grandchildren right off.” They are
referring to the joy of seeing the wonder of children without all the
responsibilities of assuring their growth.
But increasingly grandparents take on the duties of child-rearing as
their own children give birth outside of marriage. They will find a necessary resource for the
task in today’s first reading.
The Ten Commandments, which the first reading dictates,
serve as the basis of a truly good life.
Parents are wise to teach them to their children as early as
possible. More importantly, they have to
model them so that children rightly assimilate them as habits.
Today we celebrate Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents
of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. We know them only through what might be
called legend. Still we can assume that
they were God-loving people who did more than recite the Ten Commandments. They
practiced them as well and handed them on to their children and grandchildren.
