The Dormition of Saint Anna, Mother of the Most Holy God-bearer (Theotokos); Holy Women Olympiada and Eupraxia (5th c.)
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Galatians 4:22-31; Luke 8:16-21
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Today we celebrated the memory of St. Anna, the mother of the Theotokos, grandmother of Jesus Christ who was the wife of St. Joachim and the daughter of Mattham, a Levi priest. Anna and Joachim were married and childless for about 50 years. This saddened them, and they vowed that should the Lord bless them with a child they would dedicate it to Him. Hoping their prayers would be answered, they brought gifts to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem on the yearly Feast of the Dedication and Feast of Lights. The priests, however, did not wish to accept them, since they were from a childless man, and Joachim was scorned. Publicly humiliated he soon remembered that Abraham whom God gave a son in his old age. He then retired to the wilderness to pray, where the Archangel Gabriel told him that his prayers have been heard and that Anna will give birth to a daughter who shall be called Mary.
The Archangel also reminded Joachim that, “according to your vow, she (Mary) shall be devoted to the Lord from her infancy, and she shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from her mother’s womb. Mary shall not eat or drink anything unclean, nor shall her conversation or life be among the crowds of the people, but in the temple of the Lord, that it may not be possible to say, or so much as to suspect, any evil concerning her”. Again, St. Romanos chants, “Joachim on the mountain prayed to receive fruit from the womb of Anna; and the prayer of the holy man was received”.
In order, that Christ may win us all unto obedience, He promises us surpassing honours, and deigns us the highest love, saying, `My mother and My brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it.’ “When, therefore, bowing our neck to the Savior’s commands, we become His followers, and so are in the relation of a mother and brethren to Him, how does He regard us before God’s judgment seat? Is it not with gentleness and love? What doubt can there be of this? And what is comparable to this honour and goodness? What is there worthy of being matched with a gift thus splendid and desirable?,” reflects Saint Cyril of Alexandria.
Saint Anthony the Great says, “A truly intelligent man has only one care – wholeheartedly to obey Almighty God and to please Him. The one and only thing he teaches his soul is how best to do things agreeable to God, thanking Him for His merciful Providence in whatever may happen in his life. For just as it would be unseemly not to thank physicians for curing our body, even when they give us bitter and unpleasant remedies, so too would it be to remain ungrateful to God for things that appear to us painful, failing to understand that everything happens through His Providence for our good. In this understanding and this faith in God lie salvation and peace of soul.”