Tuesday Reflection by Sr. Rosemary Finnegan, O.P.
Readings from: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072622.cfm
It’s only appropriate to ask today: “How many of you are grandparents?” Your grandchildren, I know, are precious to you. Last year Pope Francis declared the 4th Sunday of July “World Day for Grandparents”. In doing so he said: “Grandparents are the link between the different generations, to pass on to the young the experience of life.”
Today we celebrate the feast of very special grandparents, Sts. Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. Our Blessed Mother was their daughter.
All grandparents love to tell stories to their little ones, and here’s a story you may have heard before told by a Native American grandparent:
“One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
During the last couple of weekdays, we’ve been hearing from the 13th Chapter of Matthew. Jesus is telling the people parables using the image of the sower and the seed, about the reality of good and evil, those very real wolves, in our world, and within ourselves. He’s telling us today if we have ears, we better listen up! It’s a constant battle to be good followers and stewards of Christ and not fall prey to the numerous temptations of our weary, war torn, and unloving world.
Before the last judgement, we have choices to make. Which wolf inside us do we feed, and what do we feed it? Do we feast our good wolf on faith, prayer, and good works for others? Or is the evil wolf within chewing on our jealously, greed, impatience, and malice towards others? When we feed the good wolf nourishing things, we thank God for strengthening us, and when we find ourselves offering junk food to the evil wolf, we can ask for healing and forgiveness with assurance that God will look kindly on us.
I picture Joachim and Anne, like all good grandparents, helping Jesus make good choices when he was a boy. Their lives were simple, yet they helped shape Jesus by their example of faithfulness to God in their everyday lives. Jesus probably went to the synagogue with them, saw how they listened to the Scriptures, watched them interact with their neighbors, and was often the recipient of their hospitality. Mary, Joseph, and his grandparents formed him, nurtured him, witnessed the joys of their simple lives to him, and modeled how to be trusting, caring and faithful in difficult times.
All of us, and grandparents in particular, become examples of living our faith and witnessing to others, especially to our youth, when we feed the good wolf inside us. St. Joachim and St. Anne, pray for us.
