Conjecture

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St. Anne, St. Joachim, stories, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today has always been special to me. Because Catholic tradition required that baptismal names be those of saints, and because it was much later that I read Paul’s letters to Timothy to find that Timothy’s grandmother was named Lois, I was gifted at the beginning with St. Ann(e) as my patron. I was always happy about that growing up because my image of a grandmother came from my maternal side in the form of my grandmother, Bridget Cavanaugh, whose soft lap and welcoming arms live in my memory still. It is interesting that my grandmother Cavanaugh only lived into my sixth year so I am relatively sure the many of my “memories” of her come from my mother’s love of her mother and from photos and stories.

I recognize today that this is the way I think of my patron St. Anne (and the somewhat recently added husband, Joachim), parents of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Here is what was written today on the “Saint of the Day” page of the US Bishops website.

“…we know nothing factual about them (Joachim and Anne) except that they existed. Even the names Joachim and Anne come from a legendary source written more than a century after Jesus died. The heroism and holiness of these people, however, is inferred from the whole family atmosphere around Mary in the Scriptures. Whether we rely on the legends about Mary’s childhood or make guesses from the information in the Bible, we see in her a fulfillment of many generations of prayerful persons, herself steeped in the religious traditions of her people.

‘”Joachim and Anne – whether these are their real names or not – represent that entire quiet series of generations who faithfully perform their duties, practice their faith, and establish an atmosphere for the coming of the Messiah, but remain obscure.”

I would wish to have had my grandmother in my life for a much longer time rather than relying on stories about her, but the central element of those stories is, I believe, much like those of the family in Nazareth whose faith was formed as was mine: in a strong belief and loving relationships.

Memory

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gospels, Mark, memories, St. Mark, stories, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It’s fascinating to think about how we know what we know about the life of Jesus from those who lived in the first century CE (Christian Era), because all four were written long after the sojourn of Jesus on earth. I’m thinking about this because in the biographical information about Mark, who wrote the first and shortest of the four gospels and upon whom the authors of Matthew and Luke are said to have depended in their own writings, we find only this to situate him: (? – c. April 25, 68) Only his death date is noted.

Mark was not one of the twelve apostles but must have either known Jesus personally (evidence is not clear) or been very deeply touched by the stories about Jesus from those who did have personal experiences of him. I think about a group of people sitting around a campfire, remembering Jesus, having been inspired by him and sharing the stories that prompted them to give their lives to the search to know this Jesus the Christ more deeply.

I think about my own growth in faith and the stories that I love about Jesus. They are mostly the stories like the healings, especially of young people whose parents were bereft and upon whom Jesus took pity, or of Mary Magdalene whom Jesus loved. When he saw her in the garden weeping over his death, he needed only to say her name for her to know he was alive. Compassion is the basis of the stories I love, stories of the care of Jesus for others, like the feeding of the five thousand or of his friends on the beach after his resurrection…

My gratitude for the memories of those who shared stories and then wrote the gospels (community memories, to be sure) reminds me that we, too, have stories to tell – of family, community and our own personal lives that are worthy of sharing in hopes that what is of value will be kept in love for those who come after us.