Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Saturday of the 16th week in ordinary time, July 26, 2025, Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Delivered by Elyanne from the Parish of Saint James in the Diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia. Sirach 44: 10-15; Rs psalm 132: 11.13-14.17-18; Matthew 13: 16-17. LONGING TO SEE GOD The title for our meditation today is:Longing to See God. A long history of salvation illustrates the life and growthof the faith of those called to fulfill the will of God. Their communicationand relationship with God were manifested in the covenant that God would revealHimself as the savior of mankind. God always spoke and promised, for example toAbraham, Noah, kings and prophets, but He did not show up as a human being thatthey could meet face to face. A communication or relationship thatstill exists as a promise always gives us the consequence to wait for itsrealization. This is true with all the stories in the old testament. All thosewho accepted the promise and understood it very well can only hope in faiththat the promise of the coming of the Messiah, the awaited messenger of Godcould be realized. They all had the desire to see God. Their longing was notsomething empty but a real one, because God Himself already spoke about that,divine miracles and many other signs had really strengthened their faith in thecoming of the One sent from Heaven. But until they all died and left thisworld their dreams and wishes had not been realized. This illustration can helpus to reflect about this. There were two grandparents did not see one of theirgrandchildren to become a priest and if possible a bishop. They did not seewhat they had dreamt of. They had already died when one of their grandchildrenafter following all his formation proceses then to be ordained as a priest.This situation is similar to the people in the old testament. About these people, there are someexceptions. The scriptures only record a number of persons who did not directlyexperience the coming of the Messiah into the world. The parents of John theBaptist, Zakaria and Elisabeth should belong to this category. This includesalso the parents of Our Lady, Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, whose feast day wecelebrate today. This couple and grandparents were certainly very happy andproud because the Son of God who was born as Jesus Christ, is from the womb ofMary, their own daughter. When Jesus says, "Many prophetsand righteous people want to see what you see", He actually points this toSaints Joachim and Anne, and all other people including us, who see andexperience the incarnated God in this world. Jesus wants to say that by seeingand experiencing Himself in a real and personal way, this makes us a people sospecial and blessed. Therefore, we must be always grateful and happy. Let's pray. In the name of theFather ... O Lord Jesus, may through the intercession of Saints Joachim andAnne, we will remain faithful to You in all our lives. Glory to the Father andto the Son and to the Holy Spirit ... In the name of the Father ...