Enduring Faith of St. Joachim and St. Anna, Tested in Adversities of Childlessness, Results in Christ to See and Hear, Through Mary, Their Daughter and the Theotokos

On July 26, the Roman Catholic Church honors the lives of St. Joachim and St. Anna, who are the parents of Blessed Virgin Mary and grandparents of Jesus. However, nothing is written about Joachim and Anna in the canonical books. The only available document, which mentions them, is the he apocryphal Protoevangelium of James. Though it is not believed to have been written as inspired by God, Protoevangelium of James is nevertheless important as a supplemental document to the Gospels, because it describes not only Joachim and Anna but also how Mary was born, how she grew up, and how she was betrothed to Joseph. It also describes the birth of Jesus.

The First Reading (Sirach 44:1, 10-15) reflects that St. Joachim and St. Anna were virtuous. However, as written in Protoevangelium of James, this righteous couple suffered from childlessness (Protoevangelium of James, 1-3). Because baring children reflected God’s blessing covenant with Abraham (i.e. Genesis 15:5; 17:2) and with Jacob (Genesis 35:11), childless Jewish couples had to live in shame. Joachim and Anna were no exception even though they faithful to God. Because of this, Joachim’s offering in the Temple was rejected, and he was told by Rubim, a priest, “It is not meet for you first to bring your offerings, because you have not made seed in Israel”(Protoevangelium of James, 1).

This rejection really hurt Joachim. But his grievance did not turn him away from God. Rather, it prompted him to pray and fast in the desert for 40 days, saying, “I will not go down either for food or for drink until the Lord my God shall look upon me, and prayer shall be my food and drink (Ibid.).

In the meantime, Anna grieved severely, as her anguish was twofold: being barren and her husband, Joachim, being absent. So she said, “I shall bewail my widowhood; I shall bewail my childlessness. And the great day of the Lord was at hand”(Protoevangelium of James, 2). Her maid-servant, Judith, tried to comfort her but Anna’s grief was too deep to appreciate Judith’s care (Ibid.). Then, she lamented, saying:

Alas! Who begot me? And what womb produced me? Because I have become a curse in the presence of the sons of Israel, and I have been reproached, and they have driven me in derision out of the temple of the Lord. Alas! To what have I been likened? I am not like the fowls of the heaven, because even the fowls of the heaven are productive before You, O Lord. Alas! To what have I been likened? I am not like the beasts of the earth, because even the beasts of the earth are productive before You, O Lord. Alas! To what have I been likened? I am not like these waters, because even these waters are productive before You, O Lord. Alas! To what have I been likened? I am not like this earth, because even the earth brings forth its fruits in season, and blesses You, O Lord (Protoevangelium of James, 3).

Though Joachim and Anna suffered, God certainly heard their cry. Through an angel of the Lord, God responded to Anna and Joachim respectively.

To Anna, God said:

Anna, Anna, the Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth; and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world (Protoevangelium of James, 4).

Anna replied:

As the Lord my God lives, if I beget either male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God; and it shall minister to Him in holy things all the days of its life (Ibid.).

Then, two angels spoke to her:

Behold, Joachim your husband is coming with his flocks (Ibid.).

An angel of the Lord also spoke to Joachim:

Joachim, Joachim, the Lord God has heard your prayer. Go down hence; for, behold, your wife Anna shall conceive (Ibid.).

Then, Joachim came out of the desert and ordered his shepherd to bring 10 unblemished female sheep to offer to the Lord and 12 tender calves to offer to the priests and elders. And he came back to the city with his flocks, and Anna was waiting for him at the city gate (Ibid.). As soon as she spotted Joachim coming, she rand to him and hugged him, saying, “Now I know that the Lord God has blessed me exceedingly; for, behold the widow no longer a widow, and I the childless shall conceive. And Joachim rested the first day in his house”(Ibid.).

Joachim brought the offerings to the Temple and went up to the Alter of the Lord and saw no sin in himself (Protoevangelium, 5). He said, “Now I know that the Lord has been gracious unto me, and has remitted all my sins”(Ibid.). Joachim came out of the Temple, justified. And Mary was born, and Anna breastfed her daughter, completed her postpartum purification (Ibid.).

This is how Protoevangelium of James describes St. Joachim and St. Anna, leading to the birth of Mary, the Blessed Virgin, the mother of Jesus.

Now, what can we learn from Joachim and Anna?

Just because being faithful to God does not mean that our life of faith goes smoothly. Being blessed by God does not necessarily mean to have a life without a challenge. Rather, our virtuousness can be tested through adversities. However, as we endure difficult times with forbearance (μακροθυμία/macrothumia), which is one dimension of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), our faith further grows and becomes refined.

Joachim and Anna had to go through humiliations because they were childless, even though they were righteous. God certainly heard the prayer of Joachim and cries of Anna. Though she withdrew to herself in her painful twofold grief, Anna did not withdraw herself from God. On the other hand, Joachim withdraw to the desert and prayed and fasted to communicate with God during his intensely painful time.

The Gospel Reading (Matthew 13:16-17) to honor St. Joachim and St. Anna were Jesus’ words to his disciples, reminding them of their privilege for being able to see him and hear him, though not everyone had such a privilege. Jesus also reminds that people under the old covenant longed to see and hear Christ. 

Joachim and Anna did not have the privilege that the disciples of Jesus had. They only hoped to see and hear the Messiah. However, because they endured the humiliatingly difficult time of childlessness through unwavering faith, they were given the Mother of the Messiah as their daughter. It was through their virgin daughter, Mary, God brought His only begotten Son to us by the power of the Holy Spirit (i.e. Luke 1:35), so that the disciples were able to see and hear the Messiah. And we can also see and hear him through the Holy Spirit, the Word in the Scriptures, and the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, as the enduring faithfulness of St. Joachim and St. Anna brought Mary, the Blessed Virgin Theotokos.