MEMORIAL OF SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNE

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Saint Anne Prayer

Glorious St. Anne,

filled with compassion for those who invoke you and with love for those who suffer,

heavily laden with the weight of my troubles,

I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you to take the present affair

which I recommend to you under your special protection.

St. Anne, please,

recommend to your daughter,

the Blessed Virgin Mary,

and lay it before the throne of Jesus,

so that He may bring it to a happy issue.

St. Ann cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted.

(Here ask for favor you wish to obtain.)

Above all,

obtain for me the grace of one day beholding my God face to face,

and with You and Mary and all the saints,

praising and blessing Him through all eternity.

Amen.

Good St. Anne,

mother of her who is our life,

our sweetness and our hope,

pray to her for us and obtain our request.

(Three times).

DAILY MASS READINGS

Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne

Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Reading

JER 7:1-11

The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

Stand at the gate of the house of the LORD,

and there proclaim this message:

Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah

who enter these gates to worship the LORD!

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:

Reform your ways and your deeds,

so that I may remain with you in this place.

Put not your trust in the deceitful words:

“This is the temple of the LORD!

The temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD!”

Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds;

if each of you deals justly with his neighbor;

if you no longer oppress the resident alien,

the orphan, and the widow;

if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place,

or follow strange gods to your own harm,

will I remain with you in this place,

in the land I gave your fathers long ago and forever.

But here you are, putting your trust in deceitful words to your own loss!

Are you to steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,

burn incense to Baal,

go after strange gods that you know not,

and yet come to stand before me

in this house which bears my name, and say:

“We are safe; we can commit all these abominations again”?

Has this house which bears my name

become in your eyes a den of thieves?

I too see what is being done, says the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 84:3, 4, 5-6A AND 8A, 11

R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

My soul yearns and pines

for the courts of the LORD.

My heart and my flesh

cry out for the living God.

R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest

in which she puts her young—

Your altars, O LORD of hosts,

my king and my God!

R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

Blessed they who dwell in your house!

continually they praise you.

Blessed the men whose strength you are!

They go from strength to strength.

R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

I had rather one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

Gospel

MT 13:24-30

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.

“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man

who sowed good seed in his field.

While everyone was asleep his enemy came

and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.

When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.

The slaves of the householder came to him and said,

‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?

Where have the weeds come from?’

He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’

His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds

you might uproot the wheat along with them.

Let them grow together until harvest;

then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,

“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;

but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

SAINT OF THE DAY

July 26

Saints Joachim and Anne

By tradition Joachim and Anne are considered to be the names of the parents of Mary, the Mother of God. 

We have no historical evidence, however, of any elements of their lives, including their names. 

Any stories about Mary's father and mother come to us through legend and tradition.

We get the oldest story from a document called the Gospel of James, though in no way should this document be trusted to be factual, historical, or the Word of God. The legend told in this document says that after years of childlessness, an angel appeared to tell Anne and Joachim that they would have a child. Anne promised to dedicate this child to God 

(much the way that Samuel was dedicated by his mother Hannah -- Anne -- in 1 Kings).

For those who wonder what we can learn from people we know nothing about and how we can honor them, we must focus on why they are honored by the church. Whatever their names or the facts of their lives, the truth is that it was the parents of Mary who nurtured Mary, taught her, brought her up to be a worthy Mother of God. It was their teaching that led her to respond to God's request with faith, "Let it be done to me as you will." It was their example of parenting that Mary must have followed as she brought up her own son, Jesus. It was their faith that laid the foundation of courage and strength that allowed her to stand by the cross as her son was crucified and still believe.

Such parents can be examples and models for all parents.

Anne (or Ann) is the patron saint of Christian mothers and of women in labor.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will proclaim Your Praise!

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 99 (100)

How wonderful is God among his saints:

come, let us adore him.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,

and serve him with joy.

Exult as you enter his presence.

How wonderful is God among his saints:

come, let us adore him.

Know that the Lord is God.

He made us and we are his

– his people, the sheep of his flock.

How wonderful is God among his saints:

come, let us adore him.

Cry out his praises as you enter his gates,

fill his courtyards with songs.

Proclaim him and bless his name;

for the Lord is our delight.

His mercy lasts forever,

his faithfulness through all the ages.

How wonderful is God among his saints:

come, let us adore him.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

How wonderful is God among his saints:

come, let us adore him.

Hymn

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,

Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,

Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;

Thy justice like mountains high soaring above

Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all life thou givest, to both great and small;

In all life thou livest, the true life of all;

We blossom and flourish, like leaves on the tree,

Then wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,

Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;

All laud we would render: O help us to see

‘Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.

Psalm 49 (50)

True reverence for the Lord

The Lord has summoned heaven and earth 

to witness his judgement of his people.

The Lord, the God of gods has spoken:

he has summoned the whole earth, from east to west.

God has shone forth from Zion in her great beauty.

Our God will come, and he will not be silent.

Before him, a devouring fire;

around him, a tempest rages.

He will call upon the heavens above, and on the earth, to judge his people.

“Bring together before me my chosen ones, who have sealed my covenant with sacrifice.”

The heavens will proclaim his justice; for God is the true judge.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

The Lord has summoned heaven and earth 

to witness his judgement of his people.

Psalm 49 (50)

Call on me in the day of trouble,

and I will come to free you.

Listen, my people, and I will speak;

Israel, I will testify against you.

I am God, your God.

I will not reproach you with your sacrifices,

for your burnt offerings are always before me.

But I will not accept calves from your houses,

nor goats from your flocks.

For all the beasts of the forests are mine,

and in the hills, a thousand animals.

All the birds of the air – I know them.

Whatever moves in the fields – it is mine.

If I am hungry, I will not tell you;

for the whole world is mine, and all that is in it.

Am I to eat the flesh of bulls,

or drink the blood of goats?

Offer a sacrifice to God – a sacrifice of praise;

to the Most High, fulfil your vows.

Then you may call upon me in the time of trouble:

I will rescue you, and you will honor me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Call on me in the day of trouble,

and I will come to free you.

Psalm 49 (50)

A sacrifice of thanksgiving will honor me.

To the sinner, God has said this:

Why do you recite my statutes?

Why do you dare to speak my covenant?

For you hate what I teach you,

and reject what I tell you.

The moment you saw a thief, you joined him;

you threw in your lot with adulterers.

You spoke evil with your mouth,

and your tongue made plans to deceive.

Solemnly seated, you denounced your own brother;

you poured forth hatred against your own mother’s son.

All this you did, and I was silent;

so you thought that I was just like you.

But I will reprove you –

I will confront you with all you have done.

Understand this, you who forget God;

lest I tear you apart, with no-one there to save you.

Whoever offers up a sacrifice of praise gives me true honor;

whoever follows a sinless path in life will be shown the salvation of God.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

A sacrifice of thanksgiving will honor me.

We ceaselessly pray to God for you.

– For you to have the fullest knowledge of God’s will.

First Reading

2 Corinthians 6:1-7:1

As his fellow workers, we beg you once again not to neglect the grace of God that you have received. For he says: At the favorable time, I have listened to you; on the day of salvation I came to your help. Well, now is the favorable time; 

this is the day of salvation.

We do nothing that people might object to, so as not to bring discredit on our function as God’s servants. Instead, we prove we are servants of God by great fortitude in times of suffering: in times of hardship and distress; when we are flogged, or sent to prison, or mobbed; labouring, sleepless, starving. We prove we are God’s servants by our purity, knowledge, patience and kindness; by a spirit of holiness, by a love free from affectation; by the word of truth and by the power of God; by being armed with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left, prepared for honour or disgrace, for blame or praise; taken for impostors while we are genuine; obscure yet famous; said to be dying and here are we alive; rumoured to be executed before we are sentenced; thought most miserable and yet we are always rejoicing; taken for paupers though we make others rich, 

for people having nothing though we have everything.

Corinthians, we have spoken to you very frankly; our mind has been opened in front of you. Any constraint that you feel is not on our side; the constraint is in your own selves. I speak as if to children of mine: as a fair exchange, 

open your minds in the same way.

Do not harness yourselves in an uneven team with unbelievers. Virtue is no companion for crime. Light and darkness have nothing in common. Christ is not the ally of Beliar, nor has a believer anything to share with an unbeliever. The temple of God has no common ground with idols, and that is what we are – the temple of the living God. We have God’s word for it: I will make my home among them and live with them; I will be their God and they shall be my people. Then come away from them and keep aloof, says the Lord. Touch nothing that is unclean, and I will welcome you and be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Almighty Lord.

With promises like these made to us, dear brothers, let us wash off all that can soil either body or spirit, 
to reach perfection of holiness in the fear of God.

Responsory

How can right and wrong be partners?

How can God’s temple tolerate pagan idols?

You yourselves are the temple of the living God.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple

and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

You yourselves are the temple of the living God.

Second Reading

From a sermon

by Saint John Damascene, bishop

By their fruits you will know them

Anne was to be the mother of the Virgin Mother of God, and hence nature did not dare to anticipate the flowering of grace. Thus nature remained sterile, until grace produced its fruit. For she who was to be born had to be a first born daughter, 
since she would be the mother of the first-born of all creation, in whom all things are held together.

Joachim and Anne, how blessed a couple! All creation is indebted to you. 
For at your hands the Creator was offered a gift excelling all other gifts: 
a chaste mother, who alone was worthy of him.

And so rejoice, Anne, that you were sterile and have not borne children; break forth into shouts, you who have not given birth. Rejoice, Joachim, because from your daughter a child is born for us, a son is given us, 
whose name is Messenger of great counsel and universal salvation, mighty God. For this child is God.

Joachim and Anne, how blessed and spotless a couple! You will be known by the fruit you have borne, as the Lord says: By their fruits you will know them. The conduct of your life pleased God and was worthy of your daughter. For by the chaste and holy life you led together, you have fashioned a jewel of virginity: she who remained a virgin before, during and after giving birth. 
She alone for all time would maintain her virginity in mind and soul as well as in body.

Joachim and Anne, how chaste a couple! While safeguarding the chastity prescribed by the law of nature, you achieved with God’s help something which transcends nature in giving the world the Virgin Mother of God as your daughter. While leading a devout and holy life in your human nature, you gave birth to a daughter nobler than the angels, whose queen she now is. Girl of utter beauty and delight, daughter of Adam and mother of God, blessed the loins and blessed the womb from which you come! Blessed the arms that carried you, and blessed your parents’ lips, which you were allowed to cover with chaste kisses, ever maintaining your virginity. Rejoice in God, all the earth. Sing, exult and sing hymns. Raise your voice, raise it and not be afraid.

Responsory

They worshipped God day and night,

fasting and praying,

and they looked for the liberation of Israel.

They begged God to come and save his people,

and they looked for the liberation of Israel.

Let us pray.

Lord, God of our fathers,

you bestowed on Saint Joachim and Saint Anne

this singular grace:

that their daughter, Mary,

should become the Mother of your Son, Jesus Christ.

Grant, at their intercession,

the salvation you promised to your people.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Let us praise the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.