Jul 26, Midday Prayer for Thursday of the 16th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 659
All from the Psalter: Thursday, Week IV, 1219 (Midday)

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 623
All from the Psalter: Thursday, Week IV, 1183 (Midday)

Midday Prayer for Thursday using Current Psalmody

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

Glory to God in the highest
And peace to His people on earth
Lord God, Heavenly King, Almighty God and Father
We worship You
We give You thanks
We praise You for Your glory

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father
Lord God, Lamb of God
You take away the sins of the world
Lord, have mercy on us
You are seated at the right hand of the Father
Receive our prayer

For You alone are the Holy One
For You alone are the Lord
For You alone are the Most High
Jesus Christ
With the Holy Spirit
In the glory of God the Father

Amen.

Glory to God in the highest by St. Paul’s Choir Indianapolis; Lyrics are based upon the text of the Sacred Liturgy
Glory to God in the highest by St. Paul’s Choir Indianapolis is available from Amazon.com

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 If you love me, says the Lord, keep my commandments.

Psalm 119
XX (Resh)

See my affliction and save me
for I remember your law.
Uphold my cause and defend me;
by your promise give me life.

Salvation is far from the wicked
who are heedless of your commands.
Numberless, Lord, are your mercies;
with your decrees give me life.

Though my foes and oppressors are countless
I have not swerved from your will.
I look at the faithless with disgust;
they ignore your promise.

See how I love your precepts;
in your mercy give me life.
Your word is founded on truth:
your decrees are eternal.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Help us always to rejoice in your promise, Father, and to praise the glory of your deeds. Keep us united in the love of your peace; then we shall have little to fear from the threats of the mighty.

Ant. If you love me, says the Lord, keep my commandments.

Ant. 2 May the Lord bless you, and peace will be yours all the days of your life.

Psalm 128
Happiness of family life rooted in God
“May the Lord bless you from Zion” refers to the Church (Arnobius).

O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labor of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper;
your wife like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.

Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children
in a happy Jerusalem!

On Israel, peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Give lasting happiness, Lord, to those who reverence your name, so that our life and work may be such as to deserve your commendation, and bring us, laden with good fruit, to our everlasting home.

Ant. May the Lord bless you, and peace will be yours all the days of your life.

Ant. 3 God will gain the victory for you over all your enemies.

Psalm 129
God’s people reaffirm their trust in time of affliction
The voice of the Church lamenting its suffering is heard in this psalm (Saint Augustine).

“They have pressed me hard from my youth,”
this is Israel’s song.
“They have pressed me hard from my youth
but could never destroy me.

They ploughed my back like ploughmen,
drawing long furrows.
But the Lord, who is just, has destroyed
the yoke of the wicked.”

Let them be shamed and routed,
those who hate Zion!
Let them be like grass on the roof
that withers before it flowers.

With that no reaper fills his arms,
no binder makes his sheaves
and those passing by will not say:
“On you the Lord’s blessing!”
“We bless you in the name of the Lord.”

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Lord Jesus, living in glory as the Son of Man, remember that when our sins had ploughed long furrows on your back, your death broke the bonds of sin and Satan for ever. Bless your Church, wounded in its members, and strengthen it by your invincible power and grace.

Ant. God will gain the victory for you over all your enemies.

READING Wisdom 1:1-2

Love justice, you who judge the earth;
think of the Lord in goodness,
and seek him in integrity of heart;
Because he is found by those who test him not,
and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell)
A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

Trust firmly in the Lord and do his will.
– And you will dwell secure in the land of promise.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

All-powerful and ever-living God,
with you there is no darkness,
from you nothing is hidden.
Fill us with the radiance of your light:
may we understand the law you have given us
and live it with generosity and faith.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION (only added when praying in community)

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

Jul 26, Evening Prayer – Memorial for Joachim and Ann, Parents of Mary

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 668
Psalter: Thursday, Week IV, 1224
Common of Holy Men: 1822 (reading, intercessions)
Proper of Saints: 1558 (gospel canticle antiphon, concluding prayer)

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
Psalter: Thursday, Week IV, 973
Common of Holy Men: 1455 (reading, intercessions)
Proper of Saints: 1203 (gospel canticle antiphon, concluding prayer)

Evening Prayer for Thursday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Sts Joachim and Ann, Parents of Mary

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
who thee by faith before the world confessed,
thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;
thou Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
thou in the darkness drear, their one true light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O may thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
and win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Text: William W. How, 1823-1897; Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958; Composers: Barnard, Ken Naylor, Noel Tredinnick, Barry Ferguson, Gustav Holst, et al.; Performer: Rupert Gough and the Wells Cathedral Choir
Click here to purchase “For all the Saints” by Wells Cathedral Choir

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 He is my comfort and my refuge. In him I put my trust.

Psalm 144
Prayer for victory and peace
Christ learned the art of warfare when he overcame the world, as he said: “I have overcome the world” (Saint Hilary).

I

Blessed be the Lord, my rock
who trains my arms for battle,
who prepares my hands for war.

He is my love, my fortress;
he is my stronghold, my savior,
my shield, my place of refuge.
He brings peoples under my rule.

Lord, what is man that you care for him,
mortal man, that you keep him in mind;
man, who is merely a breath
whose life fades like a shadow?

Lower your heavens and come down;
touch the mountains; wreathe them in smoke.
Flash your lightnings; rout the foe,
shoot your arrows and put them to flight.

Reach down from heaven and save me;
draw me out from the mighty waters,
from the hands of alien foes
whose mouths are filled with lies,
whose hands are raised in perjury.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. He is my comfort and my refuge. In him I put my trust.

Ant. 2 Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.

II

To you, O God, will I sing a new song;
I will play on the ten-stringed harp
to you who give kings their victory,
who set David your servant free.

You set him free from the evil sword;
you rescued him from alien foes
whose mouths were filled with lies,
whose hands were raised in perjury.

Let our sons then flourish like saplings
grown tall and strong from their youth:
our daughters graceful as columns,
adorned as though for a palace.

Let our barns be filled to overflowing
with crops of every kind;
our sheep increasing by thousands,
myriads of sheep in our fields,
our cattle heavy with young,

no ruined wall, no exile,
no sound of weeping in our streets.
Happy the people with such blessings;
happy the people whose God is the Lord.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Lord, God of strength, You gave your Son victory over death. Direct Your Church’s fight against evil in this world. Clothe us with the weapons of light and unite us under one banner of love, that we may receive our eternal reward after the battle of earthly life.

Ant. Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.

Ant. 3 Now the victorious reign of our God has begun.

Canticle – Revelation 11:17-18; 12:10b-12a
The judgment of God

We praise you, the Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was.
You have assumed your great power,
you have begun your reign.

The nations have raged in anger,
but then came your day of wrath
and the moment to judge the dead:
The time to reward your servants the prophets
and the holy ones who revere you,
the great and the small alike.

Now have salvation and power come,
the reign of our God and the authority
of his Anointed One.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
who night and day accused them before God.

They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
So rejoice, you heavens,
and you that dwell therein!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Now the victorious reign of our God has begun.

READING Romans 9:4-5

To the Israelites belonged the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the law-giving, the worship, and the promises; theirs were the patriarchs, and from them came the messiah (I speak of his human origins). Blessed forever be God who is over all! Amen.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

RESPONSORY

He has come to the help of his servant Israel; he has remembered his promise of mercy.
– He has come to the help of his servant Israel; he has remembered his promise of mercy.

According to the promise he made to our fathers,
– he has remembered his promise of mercy.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– He has come to the help of his servant Israel; he has remembered his promise of mercy.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. From the noble stem of Jesse a branch has sprung, and from this branch a beautiful flower, rich in scent, has blossomed.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. From the noble stem of Jesse a branch has sprung, and from this branch a beautiful flower, rich in scent, has blossomed.

INTERCESSIONS

Let us pray to the Father, the source of all holiness, and ask him to lead us to holiness of life through the example and intercession of his saints.
– May we be holy as you are holy.

Holy Father, you want us to be called your sons and truly to be such,
grant that your holy Church may proclaim you throughout the world.
– May we be holy as you are holy.

Holy Father, you want us to walk worthily and please you in all we do,
let us abound in doing good works.
– May we be holy as you are holy.

Holy Father, you have reconciled us to yourself through Christ,
preserve us in your name so that all may be one.
– May we be holy as you are holy.

Holy Father, you have called us to a heavenly banquet,
through the bread that came down from heaven make us worthy to grow in perfect love.
– May we be holy as you are holy.

Holy Father, forgive the offenses of every sinner,
let the dead perceive the light of your countenance.
– May we be holy as you are holy.

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Concluding Prayer

O Lord,
God of our Fathers,
who bestowed on Saints Joachim and Ann 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,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

Jul 26, Night Prayer for Thursday of the 16th week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours:
Vol I, page 1183
Vol II, Page 1642
Vol III, Page 1283
Vol IV, Page 1247

Christian Prayer:
Page 1049

General instruction:
Please pray with us actively, especially by joining with us in saying antiphons and responses, most of which are indicated in this highlight.

Consider an examination of your own conscience before beginning to best make use of our time together in prayer.

Night Prayer for Thursday

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Examination of conscience:

We are called to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men, in our hearts and in our minds, in our actions and inactions. To do so, it is vital that we examine our conscience daily and to ask for God’s mercy as we fall short and to ask for His strength to do better.

Lord Jesus raise us to new life:
Lord, have mercy
– Lord have mercy

Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins:
Christ, have mercy.
– Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus you feed us with your body and blood:
Lord, have mercy
– Lord have mercy

HYMN

O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

”How Great Thou Art” by Melinda Kirigin-Voss; Originally this was a Swedish folk melody, “O Store Gud” by Carl Boberg (1859-1940) and was translated by Stuart K. Hine in 1899.
”How Great Thou Art” by Melinda Kirigin-Voss is available from Amazon.com.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 In you, my God, my body will rest in hope.

Psalm 16
God is my portion, my inheritance
The Father raised up Jesus from the dead and broke the bonds of death (Acts 2:24).

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: “You are my God.
My happiness lies in you alone.”

He has put into my heart a marvelous love
for the faithful ones who dwell in his land.
Those who choose other gods increase their sorrows.
Never will I offer their offerings of blood.
Never will I take their name upon my lips.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
it is you yourself who are my prize.
The lot marked out for me is my delight:
welcome indeed the heritage that falls to me!

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay.

You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. In you, my God, my body will rest in hope.

READING 1 Thessalonians 5:23

May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness. May he preserve you whole and entire, spirit, soul, and body, irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

RESPONSORY

Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth.
– I commend my spirit.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

Gospel Canticle

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Luke 2:29-32
Christ is the light of the nations and the glory of Israel

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:

my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:

a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Concluding Prayer

Lord God,
send peaceful sleep
to refresh our tired bodies.
May your help always renew us
and keep us strong in your service.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

Blessing

May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death.
– Amen.

Antiphon or song in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saint Joachim & Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saint Joachim & Anne,
Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Memorial
July 26th

Joos van Cleve
St Anne with the Virgin and Child and St Joachim
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
Wood, 109 x 74 cm

Joachim (whose name means Yahweh prepares), was the father of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Anne (Hebrew, Hannah, grace; also spelled Ann, Anne, Anna) is the traditional name of the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Tradition grounded on very old testimonies, very early hailed Saints Joachim and Anne as the father and mother of the Mother of God.
(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition)
Collect:
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,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading: Ecclesiasticus 44:1, 10-15
Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers in their generations. But these were men of mercy, whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten; their prosperity will remain with their descendants, and their inheritance to their children's children. Their descendants stand by the covenants; their children also, for their sake. Their posterity will continue for ever, and their glory will not be blotted out. Their bodies were buried in peace, and their name lives to all generations. Peoples will declare their wisdom, and the congregation proclaims their praise.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:16-17
[Jesus said,] "blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it".

Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Virgin Mary, honored July 26 (Catholic Caucus)
The Discovery of the Saint Anne's Relics (Catholic Caucus)
[CATHOLIC CAUCUS] Traditional Feast Of Saint Joachim, Patriarch
Saint Anne and Saint Joachim
St. Roch - The Great Advocate of the Sign of the Cross (And More on St. Joachim) (Catholic Caucus)
The Life Of Saint Ann [and St.Joachim]

Information: St. Joachim

Feast Day:	July 26
Patron of:	Fathers, Grandparents

Information: St. Anne

Feast Day:	July 26
Patron of:	Housewives, women in labor, cabinet-makers, and miners

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Joachim and St. Anne

Feast Day: July 26

St. Anne and St. Joachim are the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. They spent their lives worshiping God and doing good. For many years after they were married, God did not bless them with children and this made them sad. For years and years, Anne had begged the Lord to give her a child and she promised to consecrate the baby to him.

When she was already old, God answered her prayer in a far better way than she could ever have dreamed. The child born to St. Joachim and St. Anne was the Immaculate Virgin Mary. Mary, the holiest of all women was to become the Mother of God. Anne took tender care of little Mary for a few years. Then she gave her to the service of God, as she had promised she would.

Mary went to live in the holy Temple of Jerusalem. St. Joachim and St. Anne continued their lives of prayer until they died and God called them home to heaven. Christians have always been especially devoted to St. Anne. Many beautiful churches have been built in her honor. Perhaps one of the most famous is the Shrine of St. Anne de Beaupre in Canada. Great crowds go there all year around to ask St. Anne's help in their sufferings.

Reflection: Today, let us pray especially for the gift of our grandparents as we wish them a happy feast day.

Catholic

Almanac:

Catholic

Almanac:

Thursday, July 26
Liturgical Color: White
Blessed Titus Brandsma died on this day in 1942. He was a Dutch priest who wrote against Nazism. He was arrested and sent to a prison camp. As he was tortured he encouraged fellow prisoners to pray for the salvation of the guards.

Please delete — incomplete

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: July 26, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

Ordinary Time: July 26th

Memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of Mary

Old Calendar: St. Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary

It was in the home of Joachim and Ann where the Virgin Mary received her training to be the Mother of God. Thus, devotion to Ann and Joachim is an extension of the affection Christians have always professed toward our Blessed Mother. We, too, owe a debt of gratitude to our parents for their help in our Christian formation.

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Ann; St. Joachim's feast in this rite is celebrated on August 16.

Sts. Joachim and Ann
Who does not know about the great shrine of Ste. Anne de Beaupre in Canada, where miracles abound, where cured cripples leave their crutches, and where people come from thousands of miles to pray to the grandmother of Jesus? At one time, July 26 was the feast of St. Anne only, but with the new calendar the two feasts of the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary have been joined and are celebrated today. Our information about Mary's parents comes from an apocryphal Christian writing, the Protoevangelium Jacobi (or Gospel of James), written about the year 170. According to this story, Joachim was a prominent and respected man who had no children, and he and his wife, Anne, looked upon this as a punishment from God. In answer to their prayers, Mary was born and was dedicated to God at a very early age.

From this early Christian writing have come several of the feast days of Mary, particularly the Immaculate Conception, the Nativity of Mary, and her Assumption into Heaven. Very early also came feast days in honor of SS. Joachim and Anne, and in the Middle Ages numerous churches, chapels, and confraternities were dedicated to St. Anne. The couple early became models of Christian marriage, and their meeting at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem has been a favorite subject of Christian artists.

Anne is often shown in paintings with Jesus and Mary and is considered a subject that attracts attention, since Anne is the grandmother of Jesus. Her two great shrines — that of Ste. Anne d'Auray in Britanny, France, and that of Ste. Anne de Beaupre near Quebec in Canada — are very popular. We know little else about the lives of Mary's parents, but considering the person of Mary, they must have been two very remarkable people to have been given such a daughter and to have played so important a part in the work of the Redemption.

There is a church of St. Anne in Jerusalem and it is believed to be built on the site of the home of SS. Joachim and Anne, when they lived in Jerusalem.

Excerpted from The One Year Book of Saints by Rev. Clifford Stevens

Patron:
Anne: against poverty; barren; broommakers; cabinetmakers; carpenters; childless couples; equestrians; grandmothers; grandparents; homemakers; housewives; lace makers; lace workers; lost articles; miners; mothers; old-clothes dealers; pregnancy; pregnant women; horse riders; seamstresses; stablemen; sterility; turners; women in labour; Brittany; Canada; France; Quebec; archdiocese of Detroit, Michigan; diocese of Norwich, Connecticut; Santa Ana Indian Pueblo; Taos, New Mexico.

Joachim: fathers, grandfathers, grandparents.

Symbols:
Anne: Book, symbol of her careful instruction of Mary; flowering rod; crown; nest of young birds; door; Golden Gate of Jerusalem; book; infant Virgin in crib; Shield has silver border masoned in black, with silver lily on a blue field referring to the girlhood of the Virgin.
Often Portrayed As: Woman holding Mary or Jesus in her arms or lap; Woman at her betrothal to Joachim; Mother teaching Mary to read the Bible; Woman greeting Saint Joachim at Golden Gate; Woman with a book in her hand.

Joachim: Basket containing doves; model of Golden Gate of Jerusalem.
Often Portrayed As: Man bringing a lamb to the altar and being turned away by the priest; greeting and/or kissing Saint Anne at the Golden Gate; elderly man carrying a basket of doves and a staff; elderly man with the child Mary.

Things to Do:

See more about the Shrine of Sainte Anne de Beaupré in Quebec, Canada. Several relics of St. Anne are also located in this shrine. Take a video tour of the Shrine here accompanied by beautiful Gregorian chant.
Foods related to St. Ann and Joachim: It seems shellfish, particularly lobster, is one traditional type of food served in France for this feastday. See the suggested recipes in the left column.
This feast falls right in the middle of summer season, so keep in mind the variety of wonderful summer fruits and make something special with them, particularly fruit pies or tarts. A Continual Feast: A Cookbook to Celebrate the Joys of Family and Faith Throughout the Christian Year mentions that "[i]n both France and French Canada what would commonly be served on this occasion is a fruit tart: such exquisite desserts are traditional at all patronal festivals (as well as other special occasions), especially those falling in the summer, when such a luscious assortment of fruits is available." She includes two recipes, plum tart and apple tart. From Ignatius Press another cookbook called Cooking With the Saints includes recipes for St. Anne's Cream (Crème Sainte-Anne) and Anna Torte (Gateau Sainte-Anne).
One could also try to find "Bible foods" that St. Anne or the Blessed Virgin Mary would have cooked in their time. (But usually those aren't very festive!) This site gives some ideas on Biblical foods.
As Joachim and Ann are the grandparents of Jesus, today has traditionally been a day to honor one's grandparents.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 13:10-17

“Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you.” (Matthew 13:11)

It’s a funny thing about Jesus’ parables. We are so familiar with them that we don’t think about how challenging they must have been to the people who first heard them. What was the good soil supposed to be? And what about the weeds, the birds, and the rocky path? Who could possibly decode the meaning of this story? Even Jesus’ closest disciples had to ask him what he meant.

But perhaps that was Jesus’ intention all along. Maybe he wanted his followers to mull his words over and over in prayer until the Spirit finally unveiled their meaning to them. Maybe he was looking for people like his mother Mary as she pondered all the mysteries that she witnessed in raising her son.

How different this is from our expectations! In this era of Google and Yahoo, we have come to expect immediate answers delivered to us without our having to probe or think deeply. Can you imagine someone in Jesus’ time rushing home after the Sermon on the Mount to look up the “blessed are the poor in spirit” or to decode his parable of the wise and foolish builder? No, if they wanted any answers, they would have to spend the time praying and figuring it out on their own.

Jesus wants us to be patient as we seek him out as well. It’s not that he’s playing hide-and-seek with us. He just knows how many blessings flow to those who persist in prayer and study. If we devote just an hour or two a week to this kind of prayer, we’ll begin to see real results. We can consult the Catechism or Bible commentaries for light on a particular Scripture passage, and then ask the Spirit to shine that light even more brightly as we ponder what we have read.

Imagine the results you’ll find as you do this. You will receive much more than the specific answers you’re seeking. Not only will you see what a specific parable or saying means; you’ll also see Jesus himself much more clearly. And that vision will change your heart!

“Lord, I want to hear your voice and walk according to your ways. Give me a heart that is willing to sit with you, a heart that longs to be in your presence.”

Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13 Psalm 36:6-11

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 13
10.	And his disciples came and said to him: Why speakest thou to them in parables?	Et accedentes discipuli dixerunt ei : Quare in parabolis loqueris eis ?	και προσελθοντες οι μαθηται ειπον αυτω δια τι εν παραβολαις λαλεις αυτοις
11.	Who answered and said to them: Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: but to them it is not given.	Qui respondens, ait illis : Quia vobis datum est nosse mysteria regni cælorum : illis autem non est datum.	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις οτι υμιν δεδοται γνωναι τα μυστηρια της βασιλειας των ουρανων εκεινοις δε ου δεδοται
12.	For he that hath, to him shall be given, and he shall abound: but he that hath not, from him shall be taken away that also which he hath.	Qui enim habet, dabitur ei, et abundabit : qui autem non habet, et quod habet auferetur ab eo.	οστις γαρ εχει δοθησεται αυτω και περισσευθησεται οστις δε ουκ εχει και ο εχει αρθησεται απ αυτου
13.	Therefore do I speak to them in parables: because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.	Ideo in parabolis loquor eis : quia videntes non vident, et audientes non audiunt, neque intelligunt.	δια τουτο εν παραβολαις αυτοις λαλω οτι βλεποντες ου βλεπουσιν και ακουοντες ουκ ακουουσιν ουδε συνιουσιν
14.	And the prophecy of Isaias is fulfilled in them, who saith: By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive.	Et adimpletur in eis prophetia Isaiæ, dicentis : Auditu audietis, et non intelligetis : et videntes videbitis, et non videbitis.	και αναπληρουται αυτοις η προφητεια ησαιου η λεγουσα ακοη ακουσετε και ου μη συνητε και βλεποντες βλεψετε και ου μη ιδητε
15.	For the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears they have been dull of hearing, and their eyes they have shut: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.	Incrassatum est enim cor populi hujus, et auribus graviter audierunt, et oculos suos clauserunt : nequando videant oculis, et auribus audiant, et corde intelligant, et convertantur, et sanem eos.	επαχυνθη γαρ η καρδια του λαου τουτου και τοις ωσιν βαρεως ηκουσαν και τους οφθαλμους αυτων εκαμμυσαν μηποτε ιδωσιν τοις οφθαλμοις και τοις ωσιν ακουσωσιν και τη καρδια συνωσιν και επιστρεψωσιν και ιασομαι αυτους
16.	But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.	Vestri autem beati oculi quia vident, et aures vestræ quia audiunt.	υμων δε μακαριοι οι οφθαλμοι οτι βλεπουσιν και τα ωτα υμων οτι ακουει
17.	For, amen, I say to you, many prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them.	Amen quippe dico vobis, quia multi prophetæ et justi cupierunt videre quæ videtis, et non viderunt : et audire quæ auditis, et non audierunt.	αμην γαρ λεγω υμιν οτι πολλοι προφηται και δικαιοι επεθυμησαν ιδειν α βλεπετε και ουκ ειδον και ακουσαι α ακουετε και ουκ ηκουσαν

10. And the disciples came, and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables?
11. He answered and said to them, Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12. For whosoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever has not, from him shall be taken away even that he has.
13. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which said, By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive:
15. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17. For I say to you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.

GLOSS; The disciples understanding that the things which were spoken by the Lord to the people were obscure, desired to hint to Him that He should not speak in parables to them And his disciples came to him, and said, Why do you speak to them in parables?

CHRYS; Wherein it is worthy admiration, that the disciples who desire to learn of Him, know when they ought to ask Him, for they do not this before the multitude. This Matthew declares, when he says, And they came to him; and Mark more expressly says, that they came to him when he was alone.

JEROME; We must inquire how they could come to Him at that time when Jesus was sitting in the ship; we may understand that they had at the first entered into the ship, and standing there, made this inquiry of Him.

REMIG; The Evangelist therefore says, came to Him, to express that they eagerly inquired of Him; or they might indeed approach Him bodily, though the space between them was small.

CHRYS; And observe moreover their goodness, how great their thought for others, that they inquire about what concerns others, before what relates to themselves. For they say not, 'Why do you speak to us in parables?' but to them. And he answered and said to them, Because it is given to you to know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven.

REMIG; To you, I say, who adhere to Me, and believe in Me. By the mystery of the kingdom of heaven, He intends the Gospel doctrine. To them, that is, to them that are without, and who would not believe on Him, the Scribes namely and Pharisees, and to the rest who continue in unbelief, it is not given. Let us then, with the disciples, come to the Lord with a pure heart, that He may think us worthy to interpret to us the evangelic teaching; according to that, They Who draw near to his feet, shall receive of his doctrine.

CHRYS; In saying this, He does not imply any necessity or fate, but shows at once, that they, to whom it is not given, are the cause of all their own miseries, and yet that the knowledge of the Divine mysteries is the gift of God, and a grace given from above. Yet this does not destroy free will, as is manifest from what follows; for to prevent that either these should despair, or those be remiss, when they hear that to you it is given, He shows that the beginning of all lays with ourselves, and then He adds, For whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall abound; and whosoever has not, from him shall be taken what he has. As much as to say, Whosoever has the desire and the zeal, to him shall be given all those things which are of God; but whosoever lacks these, and does not contribute that part that pertains to him, to him neither are the things which are of God given, but even those things that he has are taken from him; not because God takes them away, but because he has made himself unworthy of those that he has. Wherefore we also, if we see any hearkening carelessly, and having exhorted him to attend, he do not heed us, let us be silent; for should we persevere in urging him, his slothfulness will be the more charged against him. But him that is zealous to learn, we draw onwards, pouring forth many things And He well said according to another Evangelist, That which he seems to have; for, in truth, he has not even that he has.

REMIG; He that has a desire to read, shall have given to him power to understand, and whosoever has not desire to read, that understanding which by the bounty of nature he seems to have, even that shall be taken from him. Or, whosoever has charity, to him shall be given the other virtues also; and from him who has not charity, the other virtues likewise shall be taken away, for without charity there can be nothing good.

JEROME; Or, To the Apostles who believe in Christ there is given, but from the Jews who believed not on the Son of God there is taken away, even whatever good they might seem to have by nature. For they cannot understand anything with wisdom, seeing they have not the head of wisdom.

HILARY; For the Jews not having faith, have lost also the Law which they had; and Gospel faith has the perfect gift, inasmuch as if received it enriches with new fruit, if rejected it subtracts from the riches of ancient possession

CHRYS; But that what He had said might be made more manifest He adds, Therefore I speak to them in parables. because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. Had this been a natural blindness, He ought to have opened their eyes; but forasmuch as it is voluntary, therefore He said not simply, 'They see not,' but Seeing they see not. For they had seen the demons going out, and they said, He casts out demons by Beelzebub, they heard that He drew all men to God, and they say, This man is not of God. Therefore because they spoke the man contrary to what they saw and heard, to see and to hear is taken from them; for they profit nothing, but rather fall under judgment. For this reason He spoke to them at first not in parables, but with much clearness; but because the perverted all they saw and heard, He now speaks in parables

REMIG; And it should be noted, that not only what He spoke but also what He did, were parables, that is, signs of things spiritual, which He clearly shows when He says, That seeing they may not see; but words are heard and not seen.

JEROME; This He says of those who were standing on the shore, and separated from Jesus, and who because of the dashing of the waves heard not distinctly what was said.

CHRYS; And that they should not say, He slanders us as an enemy, He brings forward the Prophet declaring the same opinion, as it follows, That there might be fulfilled in them the prophecy of Isaiah, who said, With the hearing you shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing you shall see and shall not behold.

GLOSS; That is, with the hearing you shall hear words, but shall not understand the hidden meaning of those words; seeing you shall see My flesh indeed, but shall not discern the divinity.

CHRYS; This He said because they had taken away their own sight and hearing, shutting their eyes, and hardening their hearts. For not only did they not hear at all, but they heard obtusely, as it follows, The heart of this people is waxed gross, and they have heard hardly with their ears.

RABAN; The heart of the Jews is made gross with the grossness of wickedness, and through the abundance of their sins they hear hardly the Lord's words, because they have received them ungratefully.

JEROME; And that should not suppose that this grossness of the heart and heaviness of the ears is of nature, and not of choice, He adds the fruit of their own willfulness, For they have shut their eyes.

CHRYS; Herein He points out how extreme their wickedness, how determined their aversion. Again draw them towards Him, He adds, And be converted, and I should heal them; which shows that if they would be converted, they should be healed. As if one should say, If he would ask me I would immediately forgive him, this would point out how he might be reconciled; so here when He says, Lest they should be converted and I should heal them, He shows that it was possible they should be converted, and having done penitence should be saved.

AUG; Otherwise, They have shut their eyes lest they should see with their eyes, that is, themselves were the cause that God shut their eyes. For another Evangelist says, He has blinded their eyes. But is this to the end that they should never see? Or that they should not see so much as this, that becoming discontent with their own blindness and bewailing themselves, should so be humbled, and moved to confession of their sins and pious seeking after God. For Mark thus expresses the same thing, Lest they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. From which we learn, that by their sins they deserved not to understand; and that yet this was allowed them in mercy that they should confess their sins, and should turn, and so merit to be forgiven. But when John relating this expresses it thus, Therefore they could not believe because Esaias said again, He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them, this seems to be opposed to this interpretation, and to compel us to take what is here said, lest they should see with their eyes, not as though they might come to see after this fashion, but that they should never see at all; for he says it plainly, That they should not see with their eyes. And that he says, Therefore they could not believe, sufficiently shows that the blindness was not inflicted, to the end that moved thereby, and grieving that they understood not, they should be unless through penitence; for that they could not, unless they had first believed, and by believing had been converted, and by conversion had been healed, and having been healed understood; but it rather shows that they were therefore blinded that they should not believe. For he speaks most clearly, Therefore they could not believe. But if it be so who would not rise up in defense of the Jews, and pronounce them to be free from all blame for their unbelief; For, Therefore they could not believe, because he has blinded their eyes. But because we must rather believe God to be without fault, we are driven to confess that by some other sins they had thus deserved to be blinded, and that indeed this blinding prevented them from believing; for the words of John are these, They could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He has blinded their eyes. It is in vain then to endeavor to understand it that they were therefore blinded that they should be converted; seeing they could not be converted because they believed not; and they could not believe because they were blinded. Or perhaps we should not say amiss thus - that some of the Jews were capable of being healed, but that being puffed up with so great swelling pride, it was good for them at first that they should not believe, that they might understand the Lord speaking in parables, which if they did not understand they would not believe; and thus not believing on Him, they together with the rest who were past hope crucified Him; and at length after His resurrection, they were converted, when humbled by the guilt of His death they loved Him the more because of the heavy guilt which had been forgiven them; for their so great pride needed such an humiliation to overcome it. This might indeed be thought an inconsistent explanation, did we not plainly read in the Acts of the Apostles that thus it was. This then that John says, Therefore they could not believe, because he has blinded their eyes that they should not see, is not repugnant to our holding that they were therefore blinded that they should be converted; that is to say, that the Lord's meaning was therefore purposely clothed in the obscurities of parables, that after His resurrection they might turn them to wisdom with a more healthy penitence. For by reason of the darkness of His discourse, they being blinded did not understand the Lord's sayings, and not understanding them, they did not believe on Him, and not believing on Him they crucified Him; thus after His resurrection, terrified by the miracles that were wrought in His name, they had the greater compunction for their great sin, and were more prostrated in penitence; and accordingly after indulgence granted they turned to obedience with a more ardent affection. Notwithstanding, some there were to whom this blinding profited not to conversion.

REMIG; In all the clauses the word ' not' must be understood; thus; That they should not see with their eyes, and should not bear with their ears, and should not understand with their heart and should not be converted, and I should heal them.

GLOSS; So then the eyes of them that see, and will not believe, are miserable, but your eyes are blessed; whence it follows; Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

JEROME; If we had not read above that invitation to his hearers to understand, when the Savior said, He that has ears to hear let him hear, we might here suppose that the eyes and ears which are now blessed are those of the body. But I think that those eyes are blessed which can discern Christ's sacraments, and those ears of which Isaiah speaks, The Lord has given me an ear.

GLOSS; The mind is called an eye, because it is intently directed upon what is set before it to understand it; and an ear, because it learns from the teaching of another.

HILARY; Or, He is speaking of the blessedness of the Apostolic times, to whose eyes and ears it was permitted to see and to hear the salvation of God, many Prophets and just men having desired to see and to hear that which was destined to be in the fullness of times; whence it follows; I say to you, that many Prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them.

JEROME; This place seems to be contradicted by what is said elsewhere. Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad.

RABAN; Also Isaiah and Micah, and many other Prophets, saw the glory of the Lord; and were thence called 'seers.'

JEROME; But He said not, 'The Prophets and the just men,' but many; for out of the whole number, it may be that some saw, and others saw not But as this is a perilous interpretation, that we should seem to be making a distinction between the merits of the saints, at least as far as the degree of their merits in Christ, therefore we may suppose that Abraham saw in enigma, and not in substance. But you have truly present with you, and hold, your Lord, inquiring of Him at your will, and eating with Him.

CHRYS; These things then which the Apostles saw and heard, are such as His presence, which voice, His teaching. And in this He sets them before not the evil only, but even before the good, pronouncing them more blessed than even the righteous men of old. For they saw not only what the Jews saw not, but also what the righteous men and Prophets desired to see, and had not seen. For they had beheld these things only by faith, but these by sight, and even yet more clearly. You see how He identifies the Old Testament with the New, for had the Prophets been the servants of any strange or hostile Deity, they would not have desired to see Christ.

Catena Aurea Matthew 13

The Resurrection of Christ

Tintoretto

1565
Oil on canvas, 350 x 230 cm (without added lower section)
San Cassiano, Venice

A Christian Pilgrim

THE HOLY PARENTS OF MARY OF NAZARETH

(A biblical reflection on the Memoria of St. Joachim and St. Anna – Thursday, 26 July 2012)

First Reading: Sir 44:1,10-15

Psalms: Ps 132:11,13-14,17-18; Gospel Reading: Mt 13:16-17

The Scripture Text:

Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers in their generations.

But these were men of mercy, whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten; their prosperity will remain with their descendants, and their inheritance to their children’s children. Their descendants stand by the covenants; their children also, for their sake. Their posterity will continue for ever, and their glory will not be blotted out. Their bodies were buried in peace, and their name lives to all generations. Peoples will declare their wisdom, and the congregation proclaims their praise. (Sir 44:1,10-15 RSV)

As a matter of course, Jesus of Nazareth had grandparents on His mother’s side. Yet nowhere in Scripture are their names mentioned. In the two genealogies provided in Matthew and Luke Gospels, only Joseph’s forebears are listed. Most of what we learn of Joachim and Anna comes from the Apocryphals “Gospel of the Birth of Mary” and “Protevangelium of James”. Although these books were not accepted into the canon of Scripture, they are of great antiquity and give us a glimpse of the saints’ lives. The very fact that our Lord had a grandmother and grandfather highlights the important historical aspect of our religion. Jesus is a person with an historical lineage.

The name, Anna, signifies “grace”, and the name of her husband, Joachim, means “preparation for the Savior”. The Protevangelium of James portrays Joachim and Anna as bound to each other by love. They were God-fearing and wealthy. For a long time they had no children (like the parents of Samuel and of John the Baptist). Their neighbors accordingly suspected that all was not right with their piety, since childlessness was considered to be a punishment for personal sins. Joachim and Anna were deeply saddened by all this.

Joachim did not show himself to his wife, but betook himself into the wilderness; there he pitched his tent and fasted forty days and forty nights; and he said to himself, “I shall not go down either for food or for drink until the Lord my God visits me; prayer shall be my food and drink” (1:4). On the other hand, Anna lamented her childlessness (as did Samuel’s mother) before YHWH: “I will bewail my widowhood, and bewail my childlessness” (2:1). Sitting beneath a laurel tree, Anna implored the Lord, saying: “O God of our fathers, bless me and hear my prayer, as Thou bless the womb of Sarah [our mother Sarah] and gavest her a son, Isaac” (2:4) She made lamentation within herself which was very moving (3:1-3).

By message from God, Joachim and Anna received the promise of offspring. An angel of the Lord came to her and said: “Anna, Anna, the Lord has heard your prayer. You shall conceive and bear, and your offspring shall be spoken of in the whole world.” And Anna said: “As the Lord my God lives, if I bear a child, whether male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God, and it shall serve him all the days of its life” (4:1). Then came two messengers, who said to her: Behold, Joachim your husband is coming with his flocks; for an angel of the Lord came down to him and said to him, ‘Joachim, Joachim, the Lord God has heard your prayer. Go down; behold, your wife Anna has conceived [shall conceive].’” (4:2).

Both were overjoyed and went forth to meet each other. The scene of the spouse’s reunion is described with feeling: “… Joachim came with his flocks, and Anna stood at the gate and saw Joachim coming and ran immediately and hung on his neck, saying: ‘Now I know that the Lord God has greatly blessed me; for behold the widow is no longer a widow, and I, who was childless, have conceived [shall conceive].” And Joachim rested the first day in his house(4:2).

The pregnancy began with the spouses’ coming together, and after nine months Mary was born. The major concern of the “legend” of Mary’s birth is clearly the statement that Mary was chosen by God in a special way, and has a particular role in the history of salvation.

Joachim and Anna are simply background figures. Yet the pair do not fade into the background. They are portrayed as holy people in the Old Testament sense. Joachim constantly brings double his portion of gifts to the Temple. Each dwells with YHWH as a matter of course. God is evidently pleased with their piety. And yet, He does test their faithfulness (as He also tested the piety of Job). The fate of childlessness – which they had to take as a sign of divine punishment – burdened them, but it did not shake their trust in God. They wrestled with God, just as the patient one in the Old Testament did. God finally gave them an answer, showing that He had heard their prayer.

Their faith in God is also manifest in that they gave their very young daughter over to the Temple – in fulfillment of the vow Anna had made before the birth – and allowed her to live in the Temple. They gave back generously to God what God had sent them as a gift, without wishing to cling to it for themselves.

Joachim and Anna: faithful to God even in trials of faith, they take their proper place in the history of salvation – namely, to be parents of Mary – and place themselves completely at God’s disposal through their child. They are a standard for all who bear their names.

Short Prayer: Heavenly Father, You bestowed on Saint Joachim and Saint Anne this singular grace that their daughter, Mary, should become the Mother of Your Son, Jesus Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, grant us, Christian parents, the necessary virtues to bring up our children in Your ways. Amen.

Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for July 26, 2012:

When you are not able to have intercourse (illness, fatigue, wrong time of the month, separation, not in the mood…), how do you still “make love” in a non-physical way? Find a creative and satisfying way to express your love today.

Vultus Christi

Et istorum, et omnium sanctorum

By

Father Mark

on July 26, 2012 8:11 AM |

The Communion of the Saints

We live in the company of the saints. We are in communion with them, and communion implies communication. There is, at every moment, a mysterious exchange taking place between us and the saints who surround us. The Letter to the Hebrews says that we are "watched from above by such a cloud of witnesses" (Heb 12:1).

Naming Your Baby

New Catholic parents used to consult a little booklet, often supplied by the parish, entitled, Is it a Saint's Name? The names of saints are more and more rarely being given to Catholic babies, especially to little girls. While there is a part of ignorance here -- today's parents were the victims of the disastrous lack of catechesis that followed the Second Vatican Council -- there is something more. The pressure to secularize every area of life is picking up momentum. Change what people say, and you will change what they think. The modification of vocabulary -- and in this case the suppression of the glorious heritage of Catholic saints' names -- will lead to a modification of values and, ultimately, of morality.

Living With the Saints

Monasteries have the splendid custom of attributing a saint's name or a biblical name to every room and place -- from the cells to the workrooms to the storage rooms. The significance of this age-old custom is as beautiful as it is profound: the monastery is inhabited not only by the visible people who live within its walls, but also by its invisible residents, the angels and the saints. The naming of a room for a saint is a confession of faith; it flies in the face of secularist ideologies that would have us believe that reality stops with what is visible.

Recovery of the Sacred

The movement to secularize every thing and every place is as pernicious as it is aggressive. It is part of the "smoke of Satan" that Pope Paul VI saw penetrating the Church to foment confusion. It is crucial that we respond to the crisis with courage and with conviction. The invasion of the secular must be countered by a concerted recovery of the sacred, and by re-claiming all things for Christ under the patronage of his saints and his mysteries: our cities, our towns, our homes, our institutions, our rooms, and, yes, our children.

The Saints in the Ordinary of the Mass

Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Letter, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum has generated some very helpful comparative studies of the Rite of Blessed John XXIII (the Mass actually celebrated during the Second Vatican Council) and the 1970 Rite of Pope Paul VI. One of the observations made is that the newer rite, in a misguided attempt to render the Mass less offensive to Protestant sensibilities, removed several key allusions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the saints, and to their intercession. I am thinking specifically of the Confiteor, the prayer while kissing the relics in the altar, the Suscipe, Sancta Trinitas at the end of the Offertory rite, and the Libera nos after the Our Father. In no way was this manipulation of the texts authorized by the Conciliar Fathers. It grieves and alienates the venerable Orthodox Churches, who interpret it as a rejection of the patrimony of the undivided Church.

Orthodox and Protestants

Already under the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, and now under Pope Benedict XVI, it is clear the ecumenical efforts and loving attention of the Church of Rome are turned Eastward, toward those true Churches having Apostolic Succession with whom the Church of Rome shares the Most Holy Eucharist and the other sacraments. Protestant communities, while having some elements of the true Church and certain means of salvation derived from her, are objectively defective. Catholics gain nothing, and lose much, by seeking to resemble them, especially by minimizing the intercession of the Mother of God and of the saints. This does not mean that the Church of Rome abandons the Protestant communities. On the contrary, she seeks to dialogue with them -- as would a loving mother with an alienated child -- correcting them when necessary, and waiting for them to return to the fullness of the faith held in her heart.

Under the Protection of the Saints

The feast of Saints Joachim and Anna invites us to consider all these things. Joachim and Anna arrived in North America with the first colonizers from France and Spain, those who named every new place for the saints of Christ. By this, they made it clear that the Kingdom of Heaven was also expanding and that all places and peoples were invited to live in communion with the saints, and under their protection.

Grandparents of the Lord

In seventeenth century France devotion to the Holy Family became a mark of the renewal that, following the Council of Trent, blew through the Church like a refreshing breeze, a mystical invasion. The Holy Family was understood, at that time, to refer to the entire extended family of Jesus, including his grandparents, Joachim and Anne.

National Shrine of Saint Anne in Ireland

The Normans brought devotion to Saint Anne to Ireland and established a shrine in her honour in a chapel dedicated to their sainted Bishop of Rouen, Saint Audoen, at Cornmarket in Dublin. Devotion to St. Anne on this site dates from 1169-1170. The focus of the devotion was the precious relic of a finger bone of Saint Anne brought by the Normans.

Such was the level of devotion that by 1352 the festival of Saint Anne on 26th July was declared a Holyday of Obligation and in 1431, King Henry VI granted letters patent establishing the Guild of Saint Anne - "to the praise of God and of the Blessed Virgin Mary and in honour of Saint Anne". Six priests were necessary to tend to the needs of pilgrims from within Ireland, from Britain and from the Continent. The Church contained a chapel to Saint Mary (the Lady Chapel) and Saint Anne, with altars to Saint Catherine, Saint Nicholas, Saint Thomas and Saint. Clare. Excavations carried out in 1967 to 1972, at the thirteenth century layer, yielded a pewter pilgrim-badge and a small bronze pilgrim's flask. The Seal of the Guild can be seen today in the medieval church.

The Change in Religion

During the protestant reformation, the Norman Church was taken over and so lost to its Catholic congregation and to the Guild of Saint Anne. The Guild itself continued until the early seventeenth century, despite the dissolution of Abbeys, Priories and other religious houses. In 1912 the Irish devotion to Saint Anne was revived in the new Catholic Saint Audoen's Church. The beautiful statue of Saint Anne, there enshrined, was made by Deghini's of Fishamble Street, Dublin, and was the gift of one Mrs. Kelly in 1919.

In the New World

From France, Jesuit missionaries, Ursuline and Hospitaller nuns, and devout layfolk carried the devotion to the Holy Family to New France. A sanctuary dedicated to Saint Anne was built in 1658 between the Saint Laurence River and the Beaupré coast in Québec. Other smaller shrines to Saint Anne, in Isle La Motte, Vermont, in Sturbridge and in Fall River, Massachusetts, and in Waterbury, Connecticut, mark the "Catholic geography" of New England.

The Patronage of the Holy Family

After the French Revolution, the Church enjoyed an extraordinary burst of energy characterized by the foundations of hundreds of new religious communities of women; many of these nineteenth century foundations were dedicated to the Holy Family and, again, the grandparents of the Lord were not excluded. Some of these French communities came, in turn, to America where they taught generations of Catholics to reverence the human family of Christ and to live in communion with the saints.

The Vocation of Grandparents

Saint Anne and Saint Joachim have a special message for grandparents.
Grandmothers and grandfathers have a particular vocation in the order of grace. Grandparents are called to foster the supernatural life of their grandchildren, to pray for them, to pray with them, and to model holiness for them. Grandparents can reach places in a child's heart that no one else can reach. Grandparents can introduce their grandchildren to the joy of living with the saints.

The Things That Call to Mind the Saints

We are the spiritual descendants of the saints. We profess our faith in the communion of the saints and acknowledge their presence in our homes and in our lives. We renounce the evil ideologies of secularization that, by suppressing the things that call to mind the saints, aim at erasing the supernatural from daily life.

Eucharistic Intercession

In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, heaven descends to earth and earth is assumed into heaven. Around the altar there is infinitely more than what meets the eye. Saints Joachim and Anne are present to us; their most holy Daughter, the Virgin Mary, is present to us. We ask them to join their intercession to ours, imploring peace for the whole world, and blessings upon our families. This too is the communion of the saints: the Holy Sacrifice offered here can bring peace and blessings to thousands of hearts and places. Live, then, as if you were seeing the invisible! There is nothing more real than that.

Prayer to Saint Anne

O glorious Saint Anne,
filled with compassion for those who invoke thee,
and with love for those who suffer,
heavily laden with the weight of my troubles,
I cast myself at thy feet and humbly beg thee
to take the present affair, which I recommend, under thy special protection.
Here mention request.
Vouchsafe to recommend it, to thy daughter the Blessed Virgin Mary
and lay it before the throne of Jesus,
so that He may bring it to a happy issue.
Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted.
Above all, obtain for me the grace
of one day beholding my God, face to face
and with you and Mary Most Holy and all of the Saints,
praising Him for all eternity. Amen.

St. Joachim and St. Anne

Daily Readings for: July 26, 2012(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

Memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of Mary

Meditation: Matthew 13:10-17

Et istorum, et omnium sanctorum

Daily Readings for: July 26, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)