Jul 26 – Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Virgin Mary
By tradition Joachim and Anne are considered to be the names of the parents of Mary, the Mother of God. We have no historical evidence, however, of any elements of their lives, including their names. Any stories about Mary’s father and mother come to us through legend and tradition. It was the parents of Mary who nurtured Mary, taught her, brought her up to be a worthy Mother of God. It was their teaching that led her to respond to God’s request with faith, “Let it be done to me as you will.” It was their example of parenting that Mary must have followed as she brought up her own son, Jesus. It was their faith that laid the foundation of courage and strength that allowed her to stand by the cross as her son was crucified and still believe. Such parents can be examples and models for all parents.
Mt 13:1-9
Ex 16:1-5,9-15
Others fell on rich soil…
Today’s readings continue to be infused with parables about sowing, harvesting, and reaping. This speaks to us, even those of us who are neither farmers nor gardeners, on many levels, does it not?
Just last Sunday our gospel was about the ground that good seed fell on, and in today’s first reading we are reminded of the consistent ‘grumbling’ of the children of Israel. In today’s gospel, we are again reminded of the fragility of seed/life that falls on less than rich and cultivated soil. I can personally relate to both of these less than glowing situations. I grumble. Sometimes loud and long. Oftentimes, about the most unimportant of things. And the ground that I am standing on –- well, my sins are due to the ground I am standing on –- often it is the ground of my pride. I slip, slide, get caught up in the world, get caught up my intelligence or logic, get caught up in my righteousness (or at least my ‘more righteous’ than you) behaviour/attitude, etc. Why? Because I procrastinate about tending to the soil upon which I stand.
In a homily I recently read by Rev. Terrance Klein entitled, “Why we are not ready to receive God’s word”, he wrote, “God does the seeding, but we are told to tend the soil.” He further states, “God’s word will achieve the end for which it was sent, but we are the ground that must be readied for the seed. Are you fertile or fugitive?Are you ready to hear, or ready with excuses?”
I immediately thought of those words regarding St. Anne and St. Joachim this morning. Scripture has no written words to tell us about Mary’s parents –- yet we know them in knowing their daughter, don’t we? They cultivated the ground upon which they raised Mary. We know that soil was rich, and therefore we can be assured it is because of the character, the daily LIVING in faith of Mary’s parents. St. Anne and St. Joachim most assuredly emulated righteousness in their talk and in their walk. Faith wasn’t part of their lives. Faith was their very breath, and that was taught and modeled to their daughter. Obeying God’s word was WHO they were, not just HOW they lived.
Dr. Peter Kreeft writes,
“When Mary said the single most important word any mere human being ever said in all history, when she made our salvation possible by saying yes to the angel at the Annunciation, it was not because of what she felt, but because of who she loved, and trusted, and therefore obeyed. That is the moment in time that splits/defines all time –- the moment when all creation held its breath –- the moment Mary said, “Do it unto me….”.
That ‘YES’ can only come from well cultivated, well tended, rich soil.
I am grateful for the rich soil I was born into. The rich soil that my parents toiled to keep rich. I am eternally grateful for the rich soil of our faith, of our Catholic Church, but until writing this reflection, I never really thought about the personal responsibility I have for the actual soil –- ground — on which I stand. As a wife and mother, I accepted the responsibility to create the environment surrounding my family. But to truly grasp that God has given me all that is required to tend the soil and cultivate to richness this ground upon which He has placed me is a new, somewhat startling revelation.
If I am responsible for the richness of the soil, I can no longer blame others. I can no longer wait for someone else to ‘fix’ the ground and make it rich. I can no longer procrastinate pretending that it will become rich soil tomorrow, simply because God knows my heart.
James tells us over and over and over again in his gospel, that faith without works is dead. And the first step in faith may very well be cultivating the soil upon which I stand.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Gina Ulicny)
Prayer: Father God, give me the strength to pick up the necessary tools to make rich the soil I stand upon, so that I may feed your flock.
Thanksgiving: Father God, I thank you for the continued insight and revelation You give to me every time I read your Word. Thank you for the toil of those who came before me, to ensure the ground I stand on is steady and the soil is rich that I may be fed. Amen.
OXYGEN 
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