Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Be amazed at this, O heavens, and shudder with sheer horror, says the LORD. Two evils have my people done: they have forsaken me, the source of living waters; They have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water.

We are constantly tempted to forsake God and try to build lives for ourselves. This spirit of selfishness and pride is one that leads to brokenness, emptiness, and death. Without the living waters of God, we dry up spiritually, mentally, and physically. We dig ourselves deeper and deeper into sin and are buried in fears, doubts, and worldly anxieties. However, it doesn't have to be this way. Instead of selfishness and pride, we can build our lives on selflessness and faith in God just like saints Joachim and Anne. They trusted in God, they placed their lives at His service and did everything He asked of them. They loved God with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strengths and passed on this devotion to their daughter, Mary, Our Heavenly Queen and Mother.

Are there areas in our lives where we are trying to be the builders and not letting God build for us? What sins, fears, doubts, and worldly anxieties are we allowing to bury us in guilt and worry? How can we become more faithful to God in all things, like the parents of Mary?

O Lord, we thank you for such great spiritual grandparents as saints Joachim and Anne.

Amen.

Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

"He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear."

We are all called to be good seeds in the world and bear fruit for God and His children. However, we will not be unopposed. The weeds of the wicked will seek to strangle us and keep us from being spiritually fruitful, but we must resist their persecutions and temptations. We will have no one to blame if we fall into sin and fail to produce good fruit. It is up to us to open our hearts to the Sun of Truth and allow the cleansing rains of God’s Divine Mercy to nourish us with grace.

What can we do to keep ourselves from becoming weeds? How can we grow in faith, hope, and love?  What can we do to bear good fruits in our lives?

O Lord, let our righteousness shine like the sun.

Amen.