LIVING IN THE DAILY GRIND

Joachim and Anna

According to extra-canonical sources, Joachim and Anna were Mary's parents.  It is said that they had great love for another, yet had no children. The account records after being rejected at the Temple for not having children, Joachim went to the wilderness to pray where he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. Anna mourned and sang lamentations unto God.   She encountered God in her prayers in a garden and seeing a bird in a laurel tree she began to share her lack of fruitfulness with God. “Even the birds are fruitful for you, God” she prayed. “I’m not like the earth because the earth bears fruit in season.” They were promised that they would conceive a child and she would be “talked about in the entire world.” Thus Mary was born.  The following icon is one which was shared by a Greek Orthodox friend at her husband's funeral:

 

She said this icon reminds her of the love she and her husband shared all the years of their marriage.  He was not Greek Orthodox, but they were able to experience God beyond traditions and boundaries because they both shared a deep love for Christ. My husband and I conducted the funeral.  It was a blending of traditions.  For a brief moment in time we caught the glimpse of "heaven on earth."  It gave us the courage to go boldly into the future believing that the Kingdom of God is and will be a visible reality. May Joachim and Anna' s love inspire you to love beyond boundaries.

Mary and the Child

I have had this icon on my desk for several months now. It is called the Virgin Orans or the Virgin of the Incarnation. I gaze at it several times a day, meditating on its beauty and serenity. In the Protestant Church we do not pay much attention to Mary. She is the mother of Jesus and we remember her during our annual Advent pilgrimage with great caution. Mary has become very important in my spiritual journey after I became a Benedictine oblate. The Roman Catholic Church has an appreciation of Mary which brings into focus her presence in the birth of God. She is the virgin who carried God in her womb for nine months. She is the mother of God.

In this icon Mary's hands reflect her spiritual posture: "I am waiting, Lord... I am waiting patiently... with open hands, with an open heart. I am yours completely. I want to incarnate you in and through me." And the Christ-Child is extending His peace not only to Mary but to any who will dare to imitate Mary's desire and prayer. As another day is coming to a close, I wonder how ready I am to dare to proclaim, "Lord, I am yours completely, with open hands and an open heart." Thankfully, God's love does not depend on my readiness or my willingness... Actually God's love does not depend on me at all... God's love IS ... Because I cannot even breathe without this Love I choose to be faithful and submit like Mary with doubts, fear, reservation... There is peace in submission.