Jesus had some grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and other types of family members in his life who influenced the person He was or became. Jesus also had some relatives who came before His life that had their influence upon him. That ought to be remembered on this day after Sts. Joachim and Anne’s feast. God took in grandparents in His incarnation. You could say He picked them out.
The Lord Jesus had the grandparents Anne and Joachim. Church teaching lists them as the names of Mary’s parents. They lived in Jerusalem. He also had grandparents on Joseph’s side, and the Bible lists him in a genealogy of having a grandfather named Jacob. Jacob likely lived in Bethlehem, and was a descendant of King David, who had once been born in the same Shepherd’s town.
We don’t hear Scripturally about them. So, we can wonder, though. Was Grandpa Jacob still alive when Jesus was born? We don’t know, but if so, he likely was there in Bethlehem in that First Christmas time. After the initial and difficult first night and Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem by the travelled-in Joseph and Mary, they would have found and got with family eventually in the week. Joseph’s brother Cleopas and wife Mary were likely there for that in Bethlehem, to do some caring for the Holy Family. If Jacob, who was Joseph’s father, was still alive, then he and wife (grandma) would have come to see the Holy Babe, too. Yet the details of that First Christmas time are scant. So we don’t know of Pop Pop Jacob and if he was alive to see his grandson Jesus.
What of Saints Anne and Joachim, Jesus’ grandparents of His mother’s side? We also don’t know if they were alive to see Jesus Ministry, but the idea is that they were alive for Mary’s growing up, and Anne would have likely been at Mary and Joseph’s wedding, too—before Mary had left her teen years. When Jesus was presented at the Temple at His 40th day alive, could have Anne and Joachim been there to see it? After all, they lived in Jerusalem, as least before-hand. ‘Good chance of it.
Did Anne go to be with Mary when the Holy Family came back from Egypt and live in Nazareth? Some scholars say yes, in positive speculation. Maybe just Anne. The theory is that Joseph is now caring for Mary, perhaps, because her father Joachim has passed, and a defender of Mary is needed in a husband now. So I can imagine Anne in Nazareth, and even at Mary’s side in helping to raise young Jesus Messiah. It’s just something we can make a guess about—that Anne was doing.
But while some of this is a holy guess, of their place in Christ’ life, we do know that Jacob was a fantastic father and faith figure in Joseph’s life, long before Mary or Christ comes into the picture. He came from a long line of good, faithful men.
We also know that something was extraordinary of Joachim and Anne. They had Mary as a child, and somehow witnessed an immaculate conception of her to their family. Mary was filled with grace and the Holy Spirit from her start of life. Imagine, then, the blessing that came over her parents. They had the beautiful Mary in their home, she was a girl lovely inside and out. Whatever good things that her parents did, it would pass on to Jesus one day in high influence.
Pop Pop Jacob hardly gets mentioned as Jesus’ grandfather, not even at Christmas. Grandpa Joachim IS patron of grandfathers. I know that my own grandma Barry had a kin from Ireland called Joachim. She pronounced her brother as JOE-a kim.
St. Anne or St. Anne de Beaupre is more the celebrated grandparent patron-saint, and is called on in much intercession for saintly help. I’ve twice been to the great shrine of Ste. Anne de Beaupre in Canada outside Quebec, where miracles abound, where cured cripples have left their crutches, and where people come from thousands of miles to pray to the grandmother of Jesus. St. Joachim and Anne’s feast day is July 26.
In a general comment, the Church understands and values the importance of family and family relationships. Jesus will appear as Risen from the Dead to one of his uncles, who is Alphaeus, who meets Jesus on the Road to Emmaus. Jesus was his nephew, since Joseph was Alphaeus (or Cleopas) brother. Jesus has Cleopas’ wife see the empty tomb, which the gospels tell about. Mary of Cleopas is His aunt.
The family relationship is key with our relationship with God, as Abba/Father, and Jesus as our adopted brother. The family relationship is used as imagery throughout the Scriptures, but the emphasis of Jesus with his physical family on earth is also beautifully reflected in our liturgy.
I dug out more info on St. Anne. Here is the list of official patronages for her.
St. Anne: patron against poverty; patron of the barren; patron of broommakers; cabinetmakers; carpenters; childless couples; equestrians; grandmothers; grandparents; homemakers; housewives; lace makers; lace workers; lost articles; miners; mothers; old-clothes dealers; pregnancy; pregnant women; horse riders; seamstresses; stablemen; sterility; turners; and patron of women in labor.
Anne was related to the Temple priest Zechariah and would have likely arranged for Mary to go work serving them at the jobs in the Holy Building. If Anne knew the precious gem she had in the child Mary, then perhaps she’s the patron of a concerned mother for his child, and later patron of concerned grandma for her Jesus. If she saw how good Joseph would be for her particular and saintly Mary, then make her the patron of good marriages and holy unions, too.
Another woman grandmother who was holy in the bible is Ruth of Bethlehem. She was the grandmother of King David. Ruth was a convert to the Jewish Faith, and has a whole Bible book named after her and celebrating the kind of woman she was—all in her imitation of Naomi of Bethlehem.
If you are a grandparent, or think one day you could become one, then you need to know how blessed grandparents can be as Catholic ones.
I will finish this Grandparent’s Day homily with naming 5 other Grandparent Saints.
1. St. Monica She first is known for being the mother of the great theologian St. Augustine of Hippo and for her fervent prayer life. However, she was also a grandmother. During Augustine’s wayward years, he had a concubine who gave birth to a son named Adeodatus. Adeodatus remained in Augustine’s custody and the two of them lived with Monica. The father and son were also baptized together. Despite passing away very young, at the age of 16, Adeodatus was present at his grandmother’s passing.
2. St. Helena She was mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great and was born around 248 A.D. in modern-day Turkey. She was a devout servant of God, built churches in several locations including Bethlehem and another on the Mount of the Ascension, and played a major role in finding the true cross in Jerusalem. She also cared greatly for the poor and helped communities financially. Helena was also the grandmother of Constantina — also known as St. Constance —the eldest daughter of Constantine and his wife, Fausta. Helena’s sarcophagus is on display in the Vatican Museum and next to her is the sarcophagus of her granddaughter.
3. St. Thomas More St. Thomas More, the English lawyer and martyr who served King Henry VIII as Lord High Chancellor of England, married Joanna Colt in 1505 and the couple had four children together before Joanna died in 1511. More remarried Alice Middleton and did not have more children, but his four children — Margaret, Elizabeth, Cecily, and John II — all went on to get married and have children of their own. In total, Thomas More had 23 grandchildren.
4. St. Louis. He was the king of France from 1226 to 1270 and spent much of his time in prayer. He was also known for his charity, allowing beggars to eat at his table and washing their feet. He also cared for lepers and built many hospitals. He was married to Margaret of Provence with whom he had 11 children (two died in infancy). Many of his children also went on to marry and have children. Louis IX was succeeded by his son Philip III, then by his grandson Philip IV, and then several of his great-grandsons, including Louis X, Philip V, and Charles IV.
5. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was born in New York in 1774 to a prominent Episcopalian family. At the age of 19, she married William Magee Seton, a wealthy businessman with whom she had five children. After William died in 1803, Elizabeth was left a widow. She discovered Catholicism while in Italy, and after returning to the U.S. entered the Catholic Church in 1805 and founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s in 1809. She moved to Maryland and her holy fame happened here in this state, and one son entered the US Navy in Annapolis. Her son William had nine children, one of whom was ordained to the priesthood in Rome in 1865. Mother Seton did not live to see those grandchildren.
It was like my grandfather John Kelly, of whom I have his first name. He was my mom’s dad. I never got to see him, as he died when my mom was a young adult and not married yet. His influence on my mom and her brother Gene was pretty strong, so he carries an influence this day on his 10 grandchildren and his many great grandchildren.