Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Women in Religion
A Journey of Grace: The Story of Mary and Anne

A Journey of Grace: The Story of Mary and Anne

Last updated on: December 8, 2024 at 3:22 am by Henry Karlson

0 Comments

A Journey of Grace: The Story of Mary and Anne 2024-12-08T03:22:03-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Benaki Museum: Chanter Angelos Akotandos – St Anne With The Virgin / Wikimedia Commons

The mother of God, Mary, a remarkable woman, was herself born of another remarkable woman, St. Anne. Mary, to be sure, can be seen as the most extraordinary woman of all time, for she was a virgin-mother who gave birth to the Son of God. This is why we should not expect Anne to be the same as her daughter. She was not filled with grace from the time of her conception, but she did live a faithful and devout life, one which allowed her to be open to God and God’s graces in her life. We are also told she has a very chaste and pure love for her husband, St. Joachim, a love which allowed her to have yet another connection to God (because God is love), so that in their union, the specials graces each of them had could be combined together and shared with their daughter, Mary.

Mary was conceived when Anne was old, long after it was believed she could and would be able to have a child. She had wanted to have one, and her society expected her and Joachim to have many children, and because she didn’t have any, she felt a lot of heartbreak and grief, with many acting like there was something wrong with Anne and God had cursed her with infertility. She was looked upon as a sinner far from God. In reality, society got it wrong. While Anne, and her husband, were not sinless, they were very holy people, holier than those who judged and condemned them. God had a special plan for them, where they were chosen, for their holiness, love and devotion, to be the ones who would be given a special child, that is, Mary, one who was conceived full of grace and would later give birth to the God-man. To make sure people understood Mary was special, God determined that Anne would give birth to her in her old age, so that Mary’s life would be seen as a miracle.

As Mary’s mother, Anne was the one who would prepare Mary for her own task, that is, she would be the one who would give Mary the example she needed as to how to be a mother. Anne did this in an extraordinary fashion, as Mary would take what she learned and use it, not only in looking after Christ, but also her spiritual children as the mother of the church. This is why, when we look to Mary, we should see the work and inspiration of Anne in her life:

Anne becomes the mother of that whole line of women who look to Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus, as the model of courage and endurance, of integrity and goodness. Anne is the root that nourishes the tree. In looking to Mary as a model, we must look at Anne, as well. It was Anne who nurtured Mary to become the woman she was. [1]

Anne gave herself over to Mary, and Mary gave herself over to the God-man, Jesus, and through Jesus, to us, because we are able to join ourselves with him and become a part of his mystical body. Anne had lived a long life, and despite the way many of her contemporaries thought, she was always open to and walked with God. She was not being cursed by God, rather, she was being prepared for an extraordinary and special blessing, one which would give her a greater legacy than anyone could have ever imagined. But, as Scripture also shows us, God likes to reveal such special graces to the world through signs or miracles which allow people to see God’s work amongst them. Jesus, throughout his ministry, would often heal the sick and wounded in order to reveal to them, and to the world at large, that they were being healed as a whole person. That is, Jesus healed them in their body as a sign that that their sins were being forgiven. Anne, therefore, was given a special grace, one which revealed God’s work with her and her husband, one which allowed her to conceive and give birth at an age no one expected her not only to show that their daughter was special, but that she would do what seemed to be impossible, that is, give birth to God:

Today the bonds of barrenness are loosed; for God listened to Joachim and Anna. He promised them – although it was beyond hope – that they should bear a divine child. From this child was born incarnate the Infinite God, Who told the Angel to cry to her: Rejoice, full of grace; the Lord is with thee (Troparion of St Anne).

The faith and love of Joachim and Anne was revealed to be a holy faith and love when Anne conceived Mary, the Mother of God. They had made them whole, their family was made complete, and that wholeness was revealed by a sign, that of Mary’s conception, where, even in her conception, Mary was full of grace and free from all sin. Mary was cleansed of all blemishes based upon the faith of her parents, similar to the way Jesus healed lepers thanks to their faith (cf. Lk. 12:17-19). The peace of God ruled in their hearts, and they were thankful for it. The grief and sorrow they experienced was turned to joy. They had endured chastisement from their peers, all for the sake of God, who, like Job, they never abandoned, and after enduring for so long, in their old age, God was shown not to have forsaken them. We, should, therefore, follow their example; in the midst of all our burdens and sorrows, we must place our hope in God, a hope beyond all earthly hope, so that when our lives do not go as they wish, we do not fall into temptation and believe that God has forsaken us. We should have faith that God will work in and with us, and make something great out of us and our lives. But, we will be tested, and during that time of testing, we must always embrace the way Christ has shown us, the way of love and compassion:

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Col. 3:12-16 RSV).

We therefore, should look up to Joachim and Anne, knowing that their holiness should serve an example for us. They show us that we should never give in to peer pressure, or letting the useless and unjust criticisms of others, especially those who claim to be religious. get us down or interfere with our relationship with God. Anne stood courageously, never giving in to despair, but also, never giving in to anger, responding to the unkind words she heard with a similar unkindness. While it is not easy, we should follow her example, knowing that in doing so, we will one day find God has always been at work in us, filling us with grace, giving us a chance to bear remarkable fruit as well.

[1] Joan Chittister, The Friendship of Women (New York: BlueBridge, 2006), 68.

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

General Christian

Women in Religion

Previous Post

December 6, 2024

God's Plan For Creation Is Theosis Not Perdition

Next Post

December 10, 2024 Pro-Life Values: A Call For Consistency In Actions

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Gosh, did that hit the spot. I have been having great anxiety lately. And I ..."

Mark Wilson

Rejecting Doom: Christian Hope And Human ..."

"Justice and peace are two sides of the same coin. Where there is justice, there ..."

Dr.Cajetan Coelho

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Thank you for your very, very powerful and very, very insightful analysis of the relationship ..."

alwayspuzzled

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Given the amount of lethal malevolence that has prevailed in human history for the past ..."

alwayspuzzled

We Must Value Our Health

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz