St. Anne

What a marvelous privilege it is to be a grandmother and more so if the grandson is the Lord Jesus Christ!

St. Anne is a woman chosen like her daughter Mary.

Nothing is written about her in the Scriptures except in the protoevangelium of James. It is normal, however, to assume that Jesus had a grandmother. She is the one whose feast day we celebrate today, July 26.

Grandmothers are very special people. They have experiences that made them wise and, thus, are able to provide new mothers the needed assistance and wisdom. They know what can be beneficial or not in the formation and development of children.

One image of St. Anne depicts her as reading the Scriptures to Mary. This picture shows the crucial role parents play as the first heralds of the faith with their children. St. Anne shows us that along with our concern for the physical, intellectual and emotional needs of our children, their spiritual needs must also be nurtured and developed.

Grandmothers are not passé. St. Anne has shown us that. Her legacy continued to live on in her daughter and who in turn passed it on to her Son Jesus Christ.

Grandmothers can look to St. Anne as an exemplar. Her love and concern for her only child has made Mary the kind of mother that she was to her Son.

What kind of legacy do you want to leave to the generation after you? Like St. Anne, just be a good mother or a grandmother. Like St. Anne, just be aware that you are also a chosen woman to become the mother of your children or grandchildren. May the good St. Anne intercede for you. (Nena Quijano)