Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne

Since childhood, I was fascinated by the feast of St. Anne, united with forgiveness, as he is called in my neighboring village of Erudite, today Oravská Lesná; and they celebrate it for at least two days. Many experience it as a rare occasion when they must not be absent from their birthplace. Therefore, they do not regret crossing hundreds of kilometers to spend days of true understanding, peace and quiet happiness with their loved ones. In the circle of those closest to life, but also at the graves of their loved ones, they return to the values inherent in Christians. The locals enjoy the arrival of dear relatives and friends, because „guests are like God’s messengers who come to worship our happiness“, as the poet Valentín Beniak says.

In the worship of St. Joachim and Anna can be seen in the admirable plan of the Lord God, who for generations prepared the work of salvation in order to fulfill it in Jesus Christ. The beginnings of respect for St. Anne in the West dates back to the 8th century, in the East to an even earlier time. Feast of St. Joachim in the Eastern Church is also ancient. The new liturgical calendar combined St. John’s Day. Joachim with a memory of St. Anna on July 26.

St. Anna worships herself as the patron saint of miners and boatmen, and is a popular saint in many pilgrimage sites. There are many mountains dedicated to her. In a certain sense, St. Anna was Mother’s Day in the Church, centuries before modern Mother’s Day. On one altar, the artist presented St. Joachim and Anna and Maria as a child on their mother’s hands. At their feet, little John the Baptist can be seen pointing to the lamb with his hand, a symbol of sacrifice. Love, in order to be deep, lasting and faithful, needs to draw on the sacrifice of God’s Lamb. Love needs the grace of the sacraments, as well as the sacrifice of spouses. Marital love comes from the sacrifice of the cross, lives from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

From the point of view of social knowledge, the family today has no other alternative. Where else can one learn responsibility? Where can he mature better than in a family based on a loving, stable and equal relationship between a man and a woman? All other educational establishments are successful only to the extent that they can imitate a functioning family.

The goodness and love with which today breathes can be an inspiration for us to notice even the grandparents whom these saints symbolize to us and to be grateful to them for everything. Poet Milan Rúfus prays with the children as follows: „Mother of God, you are twice as nice to the children! Listen to what I’m going to tell you now. Leave us the old woman. To live for me for a long time. The old woman has as much time as I want for me. The old woman is kind. He has God’s life in his soul. The old woman does not share us with anyone. He has time to love us. And nothing disturbs her. He has a week of seven Sundays with her. Mother of God, you whom we do not know, but we know about you, speak to my voice. Leave us the old woman. We have something together. No one has that anymore except us.“