Saint of the Day: Sts Joachim and Anne

(First Century)

Their story

+ Although not mentioned in Scripture, ancient tradition holds that Joachim and Anne were the names of the parents of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The earliest record of their name is found in the apocryphal second-century text known as the Protoevangelium of James.

+ Old and childless, it is said that the couple prayed that they would be given a child. While Joachim was in the desert and Anne prayed in their home, an angel appeared to them promising that Anne would conceive a child.

+ Devotion to the two saints spread quickly throughout the Eastern Church and devotion to Saint Anne became especially strong in the West. Since 1969, Saint Joachim and Anne have been honored together on July 26.

+ The liturgy of for the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne focuses our attention on God’s plan of salvation, beginning with the promises made to Abraham, through the prophets and patriarchs, and coming down to us through the parents of Mary, to Mary herself, and, ultimately, to Jesus. God has been faithful to these promises and remains faith to the promises made to us.

For prayer and reflection

“Let the holy couple, honored by God, Joachim and Anna, as the kin of God, be celebrated with good cheer and beautiful songs; for they bore to us Her who, beyond our understanding, gave birth to One without flesh, but made mortal for the salvation of the world; and with Her they pray that we may be saved.”—Troparion for the Feast of Saints Joachim and Ann (Byzantine Rite)

Vocations

To learn about the Sisters of St. Anne, visit: https://www.sistersofsaintanne.org/

Spiritual bonus

On this day we also remember Blessed Camilla Gentili. Born into a noble family in Macerata, Italy, she married Battista Santucci in a marriage arranged by her family. Santucci was an abusive man who hated Camilla and her family’s piety. After discovering that Camilla had been in contact with her mother—which he had expressly forbidden—Battista murdered Camilla on July 26, 1486. Devotion to Blessed Camilla was officially approved in 1841 and she is a heavenly patron for women suffering from domestic violence.

Prayer

O Lord, God of our Fathers,
who bestowed on Saints Joachim and Anne this grace,
that of them should be born the Mother of your incarnate Son,
grant, through the prayers of both,
that we may attain the salvation
you have promised to your people.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.