Ordinary Couples, Extraordinary Faith

The Feast of Saints Anne and Joachim is observed annually on July 26 and while this is not a major feast day, it is an occasion on which the Church reaffirms the values of marriage and family. It is significant that both today’s gospel (Luke 10:38–42) and the first reading of the Mass (Gen 18:1–10) are connected in their own ways with essential teachings on Christian family life.

There is no reference in the Bible to either of Our Lady’s parents but tradition says that their daughter, Mary, was a gift bestowed on the previously childless couple by God.

Praying with perseverance and an abiding faith in the goodness and wisdom of the Father, they received their daughter with joy and dedicated her to Him. Her unquestioning obedience to the Divine Will that she should become the virgin mother of the Messiah, the Christ, speaks of the intimacy and absolute reverence which characterised her relationship with her God. It was in her home, in the bond of love and protection and sincere worship that this relationship was nurtured and promoted.

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