The Conception of the Theotokos by Saint Anna

Today the Church remembers the conception of Mary, the Mother of God, by her mother Anna. Early Christian tradition tells of Joachim and Anna longing for a child and bringing their sorrow to God in prayer. Their daughter would become the mother of Jesus Christ. This account comes from early Christian tradition rather than the four Gospels. The feast invites us to trust God with what we cannot arrange for ourselves, without treating prayer as a promise that every longing will be answered as we expect.