July 18 – Saint Anne: Mother of Mary

Like all faithful Jews of their time, Anne and Joachim read the Torah, awaited the Messiah, blessed the Lord at every meal, and took part in the Sabbath and the great feasts (see my book Saint Joseph, Man of Faith). They also vowed to dedicate their child to God if they were able to conceive one. This promise echoes the story of another Anne, the wife of Elkanah, who remained childless for many years and later gave birth to the prophet Samuel: “O Lord of hosts, if you will only look on the misery of your servant… and give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death.” (1 Samuel 1.11)

In the second part of the Protoevangelium of James, we see Anne pregnant – God’s answer to her prayer and to Joachim’s. This text seeks above all to affirm that Mary was born without stain and remained a virgin all her life. It also inspired the Church to include in the Roman calendar the feasts of Saints Anne and Joachim (July 26), the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 8) and the Presentation of Mary in the Temple (November 21). In her very body, Mary fulfills the ancient promise: “One of your own descendants I will set on your throne.” (Psalm 132.11)

Every birth carries a mystery beyond us, a beginning that fills us with wonder. My wife and I experienced this wonder at the birth of our four children and our three grandchildren. We can imagine the love that Mary received from her parents from the very moment she was born. Anne nursed her child like any mother. She held her little flower, Mary, in her arms. She watched her grow with tenderness, wondering what she would become. With Joachim, she rejoiced at Mary’s first steps.

We can also imagine God lovingly watching over Mary’s cradle, extending his tenderness into the hearts of Anne and Joachim. This is expressed in a simple, childlike poem on Mary’s birth:

Anne leaned over, full of care.

When she had looked at the child,

she whispered with joy to her smiling husband:

“Joachim, how beautiful she is, our little Mary!”

The child slept, so peaceful.

The Holy Spirit gently sighed,

“My beloved!” And the Word said, “Mother!”

God the Father, full of joy, exclaimed:

“How beautiful she is,

our little Mary.”