The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1958-09-12
JOSEPH BREIC-
God Works
Through Us

have never seen a meditation-although that
doesn't mean that nobody ever wrote 0ne-on the
fact that Mary the Mother of God was born OF the
twoin-one-flesh union of st. joachim and his wife, st.
Anne.
No one, to my knowledge, has brought forth the
deep meanings of this fact for other married couples.
The trouble is that we are all troubled with
puritanism to some extent. We just can't quite get a
firm mental hold on the truth that the body, like the
soul, is holy.
God, being incapable of Impotence, does not
become annoyed with us for this weakness, but II
He were anything less than God, l think He would.
He has tried to make everything plain to us.
HOW COULD He express the sanctity of the flesh
more strongly than by Himself taking up q human
nature, becoming incarnate, becoming a man!
And what more do we need in the way of empha-
sis on the nobility of marriage than the fact that
God formed His Mother through the contamination OF
the vows of husband and wife?
Let us go back and see what happened.
Here was Joachim, a Jewish young man, and
here was Anne, a Jewish maiden. And they took each
other in wedlock, and loved each other;
Did they have any intimation that from their
love would come forth the woman promised by God
to Adam and Eve, the Virgin who would mother the
Redeemer who would crush the head of Satan?
WHETHER THEY KNEW or not, | do not know.
What matters to us IS that God does WORK Ills
wonders through us; that marriage is SO holy that
He sent His Mother to Himself and to us through the
embrace of husband and wife.
Since the sanctity of this state is as exalted as
that, how can we for one moment be deceived about
~, VI tcHlPtcu Wy LC Po6ohAonS
Of it?
Joachim and Anne came together with faith and
trust in the Lord; and He made them the parents OF
Mary, whose birth we celebrate, whose name we nall
this week; and to whom this month is dedicated as
Queen of Martyrs.
ETERNALLY, Anne and Joachim will walk to-
gether in the glory of God, honOred by angels and
saints; and why? Because they put their trust in their
Creator, and humbly loved under His overshadoWlng
love.
We who have seen such splendors-what have
we to do with the cheapening of love into lust that
we see all around us, in films and Advertising; IN
degrading books and magazines; on the stage and IN
night clubs?
st. Paul put it well when he suggested that we
not so much as let such things be mentioned among
us. For we are caught up in Christ, we are reborn, we
are lifted to another plane altogether.
Mary our beloved, our Queen, Mother, and Sister;
our proudest boast-Mary was born OF clean love,
of the fidelity of wife to husband and husband 10
wife. of their faithfulness to God and His grace.
SHE OWES her existence, and we owe her, 10
the cooperation of Joachim and Anne with God IN
the act by which God has given us power to bring
forth new immortal beings.
Joachim is her father, and she saluteS him so.
Anne is her mother, and she honors her as rnotner.
Out of their love Mary arose, and out OF their
s~olicitude for her education in the things OF Goo ana
religion came her preparation for the central monen.
of all history, when she brought forth her Son ana
wrapped Him in s~waddling clothes and lad him. IN
a manger for the rejoicing of all men OF good VIII.
Such is the holiness, such is the soaring ever.
lasting Importance of the good love OF man ana Wo-
man in MARRIAGE