Sirach 44:1, 10-15
Matthew 13:16-17

As any parent knows the birth of a child is the realization of one dream and the beginning of many others. Each one of us represents the fulfillment of such dreams. The feast of Sts. Ann and Joachim allow us to pause and ponder how Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was a daughter and a dream. Her birth and her life were the fruits of her parents’ dreams. But could Anne or Joachim ever have dreamed about the fruits of their daughter’s womb?

There is very little that we know about Mary’s parents. Butler’s Lives of the Saints does suggest that for centuries there has been considerable devotion to St. Ann. What makes this feast day of significance, however, is that their lives point to that great mystery-the Incarnation of Christ. In praising the parents of Mary, who were consequently the maternal Grandparents of Jesus of Nazareth, we are once again reminded that God entered into not just a holy family, but an extended family, many of whom would have “longed to see what you see…”

The readings offered for today’s feast in complementing the lives of Ann and Joachim of our special relevance. Such readings invite us to consider our own relatedness to not only our parents and extended family, but to our ancestors. Perhaps our ancestors resembled Joachim and Ann in fostering dreams for the generations after them.

We do not know if Jesus ever knew his grandparents, but we can be sure that His mother told him about them and taught Him to “give praise to famous men and women.” Might not we do the same?