St. Joachim and St.  Ann,  Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

"Now will I praise those godly men our ancestors, each in his own time those were godly men whose virtues have not been forgotten, their wealth remains in their families, their heritage with their descendants, through God’s covenant with them their family endures. Their wealth remains in their families, their heritage with their descendants. For all types of tragedy their tragedy will endure; their glory will never be blotted out, and their bodies are peacefully laid away but their names live on and on. At gatherings, their wisdom is retold and the assembly proclaims their praise."

Having a child is very important for the Israelites. It is part of their longing for the coming of the Messiah. They anticipate that the promised Savior could be one of their children. But not only that. Having children is important to them; also, because it is a way for them to live longer. To live longer means to continue to live even after they pass away. What does that mean? Well, as some people do, they believe that even after a person dies, he can continue to live thru the remembrance of his children and grandchildren. A person lives by the enduring memory of his sons and daughters, his descendants. This is why it is important not to cut their family lineage if they want to live on. At least in the memory of the people that came from theok m, especially since there are Sadducees that do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. That’s why their belief is that a person, when he dies, will just be nothing more in this world, and the only way that they could live on is through their children and grandchildren. As what our reading from Sirach said, "through God’s covenant with them, their family endures; their wealth remains in their families; their heritage with their descendants. For all types of tragedy their tragedy will endure, their glory will never be blotted out, and their bodies are peacefully laid away but their names live on and on. At gatherings, their wisdom is retold and the assembly proclaims their praise."

It is said that even though a person has been buried, his name will continue to live on because his wisdom will be retold and his greatness will be honored each time his family gets together. And so it is very important for an Israelite to remember his ancestors. The scriptures put it very well. Do you notice that every Advent season, one of the readings from the Gospel is just about the genealogy of Jesus? A long list of the names of Jesus’ ancestors, notice how they remember all of them up to Abraham. It is not surprising; it only means that keeping their ancestors to mind and memory is really important to them.

For us Christians, it is not only the memory of our ancestors that should be kept. We should also keep them in our prayers so they can ultimately experience the peace and joy of eternal life. This is very important – more important than talking about their greatness and wisdom because these are of no value in eternity. It is more helpful for them if we will remember them in our prayers. We never know if they are still suffering from the fires of purgatory. What’s sad is that most of us do not even remember the names of our grandparents or our great grandparents. Unlike in Old Testament times, they remember who is the son of whom or who is the father or grandfather of whom. Nowadays, we don’t even know who our ancestors are. For example, do you even know the names of the grandparents of your great grandparents?

In our modern times, we forget about our ancestors. It is sad that when they die, memories of their life die with them. It only means that we don’t bother to talk about our ancestors to the next generations. Praying for them is far more important that remembering their greatness and wisdom. But how can we remember them in our prayers if we hardly remember anything about them? You know it is always my joy when I celebrate Mass and I see Mass intentions being offered for the souls of ancestors. To me, it means that the family who offered that Mass know how much their ancestors need their prayers. You see, we never know how long or how short a time their souls will need to stay and be cleansed in purgatory.

So I suggest that every time you go to Mass or every time you pray, remember your parents and grandparents who already passed away. And even if you don’t know the names of your other ancestors, say a prayer for them and ask the Lord, "Lord, in this Mass and prayer, I remember my ancestors including those whom I do not know. For the sins that they have not completely paid, please forgive them." And then offer all that you will do for the intention of the salvation of their souls. Their bodies are peacefully laid away but their names lives on and on and at gatherings, their wisdom is retold and the assembly proclaims their praise.

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