Honoring Jesus’ grandparents
By Fr. Tirso Villaverde
Pastor, St. Bartholomew Parish
On July 26th, the Catholic Church honors Sts. Joachim and Anne who are the parents of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus. It follows, then, that they are the grandparents of Jesus. Their names are never mentioned anywhere in the New Testament nor is there any reference to the grandparents of Jesus. This begs two questions. One, how do we know that the names of Jesus’ grandparents were Joachim and Anne? Two, why dedicate a day on the Church’s liturgical calendar to the parents of Mary?
To answer the first question, we go to a second century document known as the Protoevangelium of St. James. We may recall that in the first centuries of the Christian faith, there were many more “gospels” than the four we know as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The “Gospel of St. James” was just one of the many documents that were floating around in the early part of Christianity. Later in the history of the Church, the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were agreed upon as being “canonical,” that is, approved to be included in the list of New Testament books for faith and teaching. The other “gospels” were not included in the list because, though they contained some of the stories that we find in the four approved gospels, there was much in them that could not be easily accepted as being true or worthy of the faith. For this reason, the “Gospel of St. James” was not included in the New Testament.
Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary the Mother of Jesus, were baren but they prayed for a child and God heard their prayer. (Photo from passionistnuns.org)
Yet, from the “Gospel of St. James,” we get the names Joachim and Anne. This gospel identifies them as the parents of Mary who became the Mother of Jesus. According to the story found in the “Gospel of St. James,” Joachim and Anne had spent many years being childless. As we may recall, the inability to bring a child into the world was seen as a cause for shame in the time of the New Testament. A man was “less than a man” if he was unable to produce a child, especially a male child. A woman, whose self-worth was often measured by the number of children she had been able to bear, was ostracized by society if she was without child. In fact, as we may also recall, many women were dismissed from their husband’s house if she could bear no child for her husband.
According to the “Gospel of St. James,” Joachim was not permitted to enter into the Temple to offer sacrifice as was the right of every Jewish man of the time. Anne spent many days and nights lamenting the fact that she was without child suffering the torment of people’s lack of respect toward her. Understandably, Joachim and Anne turned to God for help.
In the “Gospel of St. James,” an angel came to Anne announcing that God has hear her prayer and that a child will be born of her and that Anne’s “seed shall be spoken of in all the world.” Rejoicing at the news, Anne made the promise that, whether the child was male or female, Anne would have the child dedicated to the Lord. The angel also visited Joachim directing him to return to his wife for she will conceive a child. In obedience, Joachim did as the angel told him and, in turn, rejoiced in the blessing that God had finally granted to him. The “Gospel of St. John” continues by stating that Joachim and Anne brought the child Mary into the Temple at the age of three and dedicated her to the service of God. Supposedly, Mary was left in the Temple until the time of her betrothal to Joseph. The rest, as they say, is history.
Of course, we cannot and must not understand the apocryphal gospel of St. James to have any bearing on history. Again, though it mentions many of the events and names that are found in the New Testament, the “Gospel of St. James” should not be given equal importance as to the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In the scheme of things, the four gospels found in the New Testament are the only gospels that Christians must rely on for matters of faith, teaching, and practice.
Yet, the Catholic Church still dedicates the date of July 26th to Joachim and Anne. Even though the “Gospel of St. James” cannot be given equal weight as the other four gospels, we can logically believe for obvious reasons that Jesus did, in fact, have grandparents. Whether or not their names were actually Joachim and Anne, the fact remains that the Virgin Mary herself had human parents since she was not conceived of the Holy Spirit as her son Jesus had been. For this reason, we know very well that to say Jesus had grandparents is not a far-fetched idea.
The reason why the Church honors the grandparents of Jesus on Mary’s side is that they become a symbol of the fidelity of God to His promise of salvation. The very existence of Jesus’ grandparents becomes a reminder that the plan of salvation extended from Abraham, through the prophets, from Jesus’ grandparents (whoever they may have been), and ultimately through Mary and Joseph who were the chosen earthly parents for God’s Son. For the Catholic Church, to honor the grandparents of Jesus is to celebrate the fidelity of God to His promise. It celebrates as well the integrity of God who will always keep His promises even to the “thousandth generation.” Sts. Joachim and Anne simply remind us that God will always be faithful to the promise He has made to us to lead us to eternal salvation.•