Times, they're always a'changin', but whether you like to keep up with them or hearken back to the older traditions, either way you gotta admit that Saints Joachim and Anne are the cat's pajamas!

I've only been discovering them in recent years, but how wonderful they are, and how much there is to muse on when we consider their life and the miracles that surrounded them. You don't have to know much (and believe me, I don't!) but can simply start with this:

Joachim and Anne are the parents of Mary who was conceived without sin.
Mary is the Virgin Mother of Jesus, the Incarnate Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
To put it more simply, as they did at Ephesus, Mary is the Mother of God.
Without worrying about which type of syllogism this is, we can say conclusively from the above:
Joachim and Anne are the grandparents of God!

Above you can see a photo of St. Anne teaching Mary how to read while Joachim looks on proudly and the angels hover about in awe.

And below? I couldn't resist finding a picture (thank you, Getty Images) to illustrate the truth I so happily discovered in my morning prayer (from the Divine Office):

"The saints will exult in glory: they will sing for joy as they bow down before the Lord. Alleluia!"

As I didn't have a photo of Joachim pretending to be a lion while he play-bowed down before his sweet grandson Jesus, I had to settle for this Getty Image which pictures a grandfather kneeling before his grandson while playing blocks. I bet Jesus had a fabulous set of wooden blocks thanks to St. Joseph's ability and love for Him! And can't you guess that Grandpa Joachim would have spent time on the floor, kneeling before his Lord (Who was also his grandson!), playing with the blocks and the Boy? Marcel is delighting in the possible Vietnamese look of these two in the photo, and so am I!

Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne in the new calendar. I looked up their feasts in the old missal (1962) and discovered that Joachim was separated from Anne, or rather his feast was apart, perhaps so that we could really revel in their privileges - twice! St. Anne was celebrated on this day, July 26, but here is what we find in the explanation for St. Joachim's feast on August 16:

St. Joachim. Confessor, Father of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The holy Patriarch Joachim was the husband of St. Anne, and the father of Our Lady. This feast, originally kept on March 20, was transferred to the day following the Assumption, in order to associate the Blessed Daughter and her holy father in triumph.

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I love being reminded that nothing stays the same on this earth, not feasts, and I suppose not famines, despite the constant recurrence of both! I love that St. Joachim and St. Anne have been reunited in one feast, even as I lament that when we come to St. Martha in a few days time, we've now got her sis and bro, Mary and Lazarus, tacked on.

​And yet why should I resent their seeming intrusion? Don't I want the octave day of St. Mary Magdalene to remind us that she who chose the better part was lovingly fed and clothed by her sister Martha-Martha and her brother Lazarus? Don't I want to have another day to recall Bethany, their home, the home they so generously shared with Jesus whenever He came to town? Isn't it awesome that each of these three siblings has a special moment (or several) with Jesus - that He had a particular relationship with each one, and we need to remember them all: All three of the sibs, and as many of the moments as we can cram into the liturgy of these days?

I suppose I'm jealous for Martha-Martha, wanting to give her a day all for herself, a day when she, in perfect Martha fashion, can come to the fore and . . . put up her feet and be feted? That was never her way! My guess is that she much prefers the new combo-pack feast of July 29 so that she can have more of an occasion on which to serve serenely (for I'm sure she learned her lesson just as Emma did - both of these amazing gals, one real and one as true to human nature as the great Jane could make her, learning their lesson with just one scolding from their heroes).

I am grateful for the many liturgical calendars that grace my kitchen countertop, and whether I'm celebrating with the Universal Church in the ordinary or extraordinary calendar, the Carmelites, or the French (thanks to the Sanctuary of Lisieux I can stay on top of Therese's dates and various French feasts along with the rest), there is always more to celebrate.

Dear Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and grandparents of Jesus, our Divine Savior, have pity on thy loving and trusting clients, and listen to the petitions which we present before thee.

Oh, blessed Saints, thou art both most dear to the Heart of Jesus, Whose beloved Mother was thy own tender, devoted child! Can He refuse anything to thee, in whose veins the same blood flowed which afterwards furnished the precious price of our Redemption? Great Saints, nothing was impossible to thy power and influence over the young Jesus "Who grew and waxed strong, full of wisdom" under the maternal care of thy glorious Daughter. In mercy and compassion, be like unto Him "Who went about doing good," and come to the aid of thy servants in our great necessity!

Saint Anne, Saint Joachim, beloved parents of Mary, "our life, our sweetness and our hope," pray to her for us and obtain our requests. Amen.

Draw me, we will run!

"I have said everything! Everything is summed up in love and confidence." - Servant of God Marcel Van

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When we read this quote, we may think we are hearing from the Little Flower - and we are, but this is Jesus' 2nd Little Flower, Marcel Van, little brother of the 1st Little Flower, St. Therese of Lisieux (also known as St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face). Their message is the same, for Therese personally taught Marcel her Little Way, and in it everything is summed up in love and confidence!

And today, on the anniversary of Marcel's release from earthly life - the day that could become his official feast if, God willing, he is someday beatified and canonized - what a perfect opportunity for him to remind us of the importance of love and confidence.

The photo above shows Marcel in Hanoi, Vietnam, not long before the Communists arrested him on trumped up charges as he was returning to the Redemptorist house from the marketplace on May 7, 1955. This was only about eight months after Marcel had returned to North Vietnam from the safety of Saigon in the South. Ah, but he could never resist Jesus' call!  Marcel had said, "I am going back so there is someone who loves God amid the Communists," and in God's mysterious providence, he had taken the last plane that went from the south to the north. The date was September 14, 1954, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Marcel was 26 years old, and as he wrote to his sister Anne Marie, "There was so much insistence in Jesus' voice! And that is why I willingly accept to die in order to give a little consolation to the Heart of my Beloved." He continued, "Pray a lot, little sister, to obtain for me the courage to bear everything right to the end."

We read in Marcel's Conversations that on many occasions Our Lady asked Marcel to pray for her little apostles who would come later. Marcel did so pray, and we were among those for whom he was praying! Let's take a moment now, then, to return the favor. We know Marcel did make it to the end with courage (the end that was the beginning of eternal life), but what joy to be part of the reason Jesus supplied that courage and the necessary abundance of faith, hope, and charity that sustained our little brother. Prayer is so powerful, and so here then is our prayer for Marcel:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence we fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, Our Mother. To thee do we come, before thee we stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer us.  Amen.

Dear Blessed Mother, thank you for having Marcel pray for us. Hear and answer our prayers for him by presenting them to the Most Blessed Trinity. We thank you for your loving maternal gaze which sustained Marcel and sustains us - may we be united to him and Jesus forever through your loving embrace!

After Marcel's arrest he experienced great suffering but was also given the grace to bring consolation to many of the prisoners he lived with in the camps. A year after his arrest, he wrote to Fr. Paquette, his superior in Hanoi, "My Father, it is hardly a fortnight since they made me change camp. . . and I thank God with all my heart, since on arriving here, I had the good fortune to meet a good number of Catholics and live with them. Thanks to the divine protection, the majority of men and women detained with me are bearing up well . . ."

After asking for rosaries for all and a prayer book (and again later in the letter he asks for medals, rosaries, books of prayers, and even consecrated hosts because "we hunger for divine nourishment"), Marcel explains, "Concerning myself, since the day that I arrived at the camp of Mo-Chen, I am very busy as might be the little priest of a parish. Outside the hours of obligatory work, I have to welcome continuously people who come, one after the other, to seek comfort near me, whom they consider as someone who does not know fatigue. However, they see well that neither am I very strong."

But here is the most beautiful part. Marcel writes:

"I am very happy, for during these months of detention, my spiritual life has not suffered, and God Himself has made known to me that it is His will that I am accomplishing here. Many times have I asked Him the favour to die in this camp, but each time He has answered me: 'I am quite ready to follow your will as you always follow mine, but there are souls who still have need of you: without you, it would be impossible for Me to reach  them. So what do you think, my child?' 'Lord, it is for You to think for me.' "

And still, Marcel begs prayers: "My Father, please pray still more for me, since in thinking of this life full of darkness and pitfalls, I tremble many times and fear takes joy away. However, I am always read to accomplish perfectly all God wishes of me."

Marcel our dear brother was very little just like us - in fact, Jesus in their Conversations identifies him as the littlest soul - yet he was able to do what Jesus asked because Jesus supplied everything, even amidst fears. And yet always, always, Marcel would return to confidence and love - the lessons Jesus, Mary, and Therese had taught him and which they (with his help) want to teach us. 

It was May 7, 1955 when Marcel was arrested, and his release - by Jesus, through that first real kiss He had promised, that breaking of the bonds of earthly life - was not until 4 years later on June 10 (today!) 1959 when Marcel breathed his last at noon.  He had not been able to send out any clandestine messages for quite a long time, but we have our brother's final message from the end of his Autobiography:

"And now here is the last word that I am leaving to souls . . .  I leave to them my love; with this love, small as it is, I hope to satisfy the souls who wish to make themselves very small to come to Jesus. That is something I would wish to describe, but, with my little talent, I do not have to words to do so . . . "

This little love is so pleasing to Jesus, this love which helps us make ourselves very small and come to Him and snuggle next to His Heart. Marcel does not here on this last page say more, but all through his Conversations, his Autobiography, his Correspondence, his Other Writings, he says plenty, and his sister (and ours), the eloquent St. Therese, certainly has many words in her own writings (and Marcel's) to spur us on to love in littleness also. I have often thought and suggested that we should take Therese's confidence - ask it of her as our inheritance since she is now seeing God face to Face and does not need her confidence any more. So too we can ask of Marcel what he has already freely offered: his love with which to love Jesus. 

In another echo of his sister Therese, Marcel said, "From the heights of heaven I will look down on my little brothers and sisters, and just as much as I have loved them on earth, will I love them also in heaven." 

Actually, Therese promised not only to watch over us  and love us from heaven, but to come down. We can surely say she would have taught this one last lesson to Marcel when he arrived at her side in heaven, safe on Mary's lap with Jesus as He had promised. So Marcel, little brother, come down and bring us this love that filled your heart and made you, by God's grace, faithful to the end! On this your little feast, comfort all who suffer as you comforted those who suffered with you in the camps, obtain for us the Bread of Life as you so desired to obtain it for them, and teach us incessantly the Little Way which St. Therese taught to you, that we may turn to Jesus always with confidence and love!

Finally, little brother, we ask that you fulfill for us today a debt we owe but can never repay. Come down and give a special cupful of joy to your translator, Jack K, the one who gave so unstintingly of himself that we might have your words (and those of Jesus, Mary, and Therese) in English. Now that you are able to play all day, take a moment on this your feast and bring again the kisses you promised in your letter of 30 November 1947 when you wrote (as we know thanks to Jack): 

"I am giving you a kiss with the pretty lips of little Jesus, my little friend and also the friend of souls. I am adding to it a double kiss: that of my Mother Mary and of my sister little Therese, who are both very dear to me."

I will join you! At Holy Mass on this your feast, I will offer the kisses of Jesus in Holy Communion, and those of Mother Mary and Therese and you who are sure to be there with Him with me, to all your friends in Heaven and especially to (and for) all your friends on earth: from Jack K and his lovely B to Madame Anne de B and her successors, from Cyrgue to Dom Olivier, from Miss Marcel East to Miss Marcels in Michigan to Miss Marcels in Oklahoma, from Brother Mark to Father Bjorn to dear Patrick, and so many, many, many more! Although the remainder of the recipients are unnamed here, the angels will help deliver these kisses . . . 

Draw me, little Jesus, with Therese and Marcel; we will run!