July 17 – Anne and Joachim: A Blessed Couple

In the Orthodox tradition, Anne and Joachim are called the “righteous ancestors of God.” They are like the roots of the tree of Jesse, of the line of David, from which Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. Saint Andrew of Crete, a poet and preacher of the seventh century, wrote: “Blessed, O Anne, is the house of David, of which you are an heir! Yes, blessed and three times blessed are you who gave us that Virgin filled with God’s gifts, Mary, whose name is worthy of all love and honour, and from whom came Christ, the flower of life!”.

According to various sources, Joachim was a shepherd. He is described as a prosperous, devout and generous man living in Jerusalem. He regularly gave money to the poor and to the Temple. Anne is also portrayed as a woman of deep faith. She moved to Jerusalem with her parents and it was there that she met Joachim. They married and settled near the Temple. After twenty years of marriage, they still had no child. Yet this simple and faithful couple would change the course of human history by giving birth to Mary, who would become the Mother of God and our mother.

Anne and Joachim lived the ordinary rhythm of daily life, with its joys and its sorrows, much like many couples today. They faced the trial of infertility with faith, even though it was considered a great misfortune in their time. They wept and were not understood by the priests of the Temple, yet they held on to hope that things would change. They drew their strength from prayer and from meditating on the Psalms: “Hope in the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; hope in the Lord!” (Psalm 27.14).

Good Saint Anne, we pray for couples who are unable to have children. May they continue to trust in the Lord’s creative love, which brings new life in many ways.