The
age of Anne, when She married Joachim, was twenty-four, and that of Joachim,
forty-six. At the time of the Conception of her Daughter, she was forty-four
years old, and saint Joachim sixty-six. Although the conception happened
according to the ordinary course of nature, yet the Most High freed it from
imperfections and disorders, permitting only what was strictly required
according to nature, in order that the proper material might be furnished for
the formation of the most perfect substance within the limits of a mere
creature.
St. Anne at the age of 24 during her
marriage
In
Saint Anne the Conception was miraculous, not only in regard to the manner, but
in regard to its very substance. In regard to the conceptions which happen entirely
according to the natural order and in virtue of the natural powers, there is no
necessity of recurring to or of depending on any supernatural cause. The
parents in concurring are sufficient causes of the propagation.
In
both of them nature and grace concurred; Thus grace was the origin of this
Conception, while it called into its service the activity of nature in so far
as was necessary for the birth of that ineffable Daughter from her natural
parents.
This
wonder, can be made intelligible by that which our Saviour wrought, when saint
Peter walked over the water (Matth. 14, 29). In order to sustain him, the water
was not necessarily changed into crystal or dice, over which he and others
could have walked without requiring any miraculous intervention except that of
thus suddenly changing it into ice; but without thus changing the water, the
Lord gave it the power to sustain the body of the Apostle. It remained in a
liquid state both during and after the miracle;. The miracle therefore was
performed without changing the water by the addition of a new quality.
Much
like to this, though much more wonderful, was the miracle of the Conception of
Mary most holy in her mother Anne. The parents were so entirely governed by
grace and withdrawn from concupiscence and delectation, that the accidental
imperfections, which ordinarily are the material or the instruments of
conception, and which induce original sin, were altogether wanting. Thus was
furnished a material exempt from imperfection and furnished in such a manner
that the act itself was meritorious. Hence in so far as this act was concerned
it could easily be free from sin or imperfection, even if divine Providence had
not previously arranged every particular of this event. This miracle the
Almighty reserved solely for Her, who was to be a Mother worthy of Himself. For
if it was proper that the material part of his being should have its origin
according to the order maintained in the conception of the other children of
Adam, it was likewise eminently proper that, without destroying nature, grace
should concur in it with all its efficacy and power, and that it should excel
in Her and act in Her more efficaciously than in all the children of Adam; yea,
be greater than even in Adam and Eve, who gave origin to the corruption of
nature and to its disorderly concupiscence.
St. Joachim the father of the blessed virgin Mary
In
the formation of the body of the most holy Mary the wisdom and power of the
Almighty proceeded so cautiously that the quantities and qualities of the four
natural elements of the human body, the sanguine, melancholic, phlegmatic and
choleric, were compounded in exact proportion and measure; in order that by
this most perfect proportion in its mixture and composition it might assist the
operations of that holy Soul with which it was to be endowed and animated. This
wonderfully composed temperament was afterwards the source and the cause, which
in its own way made possible the serenity and peace that reigned in the powers
and faculties of the Queen of heaven during all her life. Never did any of
these elements oppose or contradict nor seek to predominate over the others,
but each one of them supplemented and served the others, continuing in this
well ordered fabric without corruption or decay. Never did the body of the most
Holy Mary suffer from the taint of corruption, nor was there anything wanting
or anything excessive found in it; but all the conditions and proportions of the
different elements were continuously adjusted, without any want or excess in
what was necessary for her perfect existence and without excess or default in
dryness or moisture. Neither was there more warmth than was necessary for
maintenance of life or digestion; nor more cold than was necessary for the
right temperature and for the maintenance of the bodily humours.
