The power of human relationship: Homily for Friday, July 26, 2024

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The power of human relationship

I don’t know how much we actually know about Saints Joachim and Anne, the mother, the parents rather, of Mary. But there is something I think that it does point to, and that’s the power of human relationship.

Joachim and Anne were holy and are Saints that obviously had a tremendous impact on raising their daughter, Mary. They introduced her to the faith. They strengthened her faith. They did all they could to recognize how the grace of God was active and alive.

It’s a chance for us to think of our own human relationships, maybe our parents in one way because they were, for many, the first teachers of the faith. I think of my mother because today is her birthday. She turns 88 today, although she insists she no longer has birthdays, but anyway.

But I think of how much I’ve learned from my mother. I’ve learned to be caring and welcoming. My mother is a person of great community. People kind of gravitate. She’s very social. She’s one of the people in the nursing home that leaves the door to her room open and people stop by.

Who are the people in your life that have helped you to realize the power of the faith? I mentioned parents, but there could certainly be a lot of others. There could be our parents, our siblings. They often, our siblings, were the ones who kept us in our place and, as Paul said, kept us from being too elated, thinking too much of ourselves. It could be, it certainly is friends.

I think of myself, my brothers in the order. I think there are human relationships that God gives to us and if they are put in proper place, they are the means of our salvation. They are one of the ways in which Jesus helps us in accepting his gift of salvation. On this day, let us ask for the intercession of Saints Joachim and Anne that we, in fact, may be positive influences on the relationships that are important to us and that we may recognize in all our human interactions the many ways that Jesus is speaking to us.

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