The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friends in Christ,

We do not have anything in the Scriptures telling us of the life of Saint Anne. All that we know is what is related to us through tradition. The Epistle appointed for today is taken from the Book of Wisdom (Proverbs 31:10-31). Here we read of the magnificent praise of the perfect woman, which concludes the book of Proverbs. The Church applies this reading to holy women. The summation of the perfect woman is that she possesses the virtue of fear of the Lord.

Saint Anne was married to Saint Joachim and is the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This makes her the biological maternal grandmother of Jesus Christ. While it is honorable and praiseworthy to have this ancestral title and place in God's plan, our attention is drawn to all the ordinary things she did daily in living in the presence or fear of God.

What is it that makes anyone great? Is it not the faithful fulfillment of our daily obligations for the love of God? Doing all that we do to the best of our ability for the greater honor and glory of God? It seems absurd to have to say the obvious — but our modern society appears to make it necessary. A good woman is a woman who does everything that every other woman does, but she does it with the thought and desire of doing it for the love of God. A good mother is a mother who bears children like every other mother, but she sanctifies her life and her station in life by dedicating herself, her life, her children, her cross, her labors, in short, all that she is and has to God.

Today's Gospel reading (Saint Matthew 13:44-52) is a parable of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field or a pearl of great price. The wise people are those who sell everything to obtain this treasure or this pearl. There is a singleness of purpose in the Kingdom of Heaven. Everything else is considered irrelevant, unnecessary, and even burdensome when the Kingdom of Heaven is considered. Therefore, everything is sacrificed or employed to obtain one single purpose or goal. The Kingdom of Heaven should be our one single purpose and our one single goal. Everything that we have and even our very selves should be directed to this one single goal. The Kingdom of Heaven is what we were made for. All the things of this world are meant to be used as means to obtain or reach our destiny or goal.

God made the physical world to serve humans. Humans are made to know, love, and serve God so that we may be happy with Him in Heaven. It logically follows that everything we have in this world should be used to advance us toward our ultimate purpose or goal in God's Heaven. Anything that hinders or obstructs our love for God and our obtaining this treasure should be cast aside.

Tradition tells us that Saint Anne and Saint Joachim were elderly but persevered in praying to God for a child. They prayed and offered sacrifices for this very purpose. They sacrificed many things of this world to obtain the "pearl of great price," Mary — the Mother of God. Saint Anne was not reluctantly resigned to having a child; she was in complete union with God, Who gave her a child.

Her willingness and eagerness to become a mother did not dare to aspire to the treasure that God gave her. Her outward life was probably not much different from that of other women of her time. What set her apart was her heart and mind. She had a love for God that knew no limits. She was ready, willing, and able to embrace the burdens of motherhood, but even more so, she lovingly desired to fulfill this life of sacrifice out of love for God. Out of love for the "hidden treasure" or the "pearl of great price."

As our modern world tells us that children are a burden and a curse, may we learn from Saint Anne that children are made in the image and likeness of God and are destined to be with Him, one day in Heaven. Children are treasures, not burdens or curses. Husbands and wives should welcome the children given to them by God with open hearts and minds for the love of God. The children given to us today will not be Mary — the Mother of God. However, our children are all destined to carry Jesus within them sacramentally, and spiritually. The baptized child is purified and sanctified and returned to us as a gift or treasure from God. Are we willing to sell everything or sacrifice everything for their eternal well-being? What are we willing to do or sacrifice to secure them for the Kingdom of Heaven?

We may never be as worthy as Saint Anne, but through her intercession, may we learn to cooperate with God in whatever station He pleases to place us, and unhesitatingly do all for Heaven or sacrifice all for God.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us.

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