+ Sts Joachim and Anne were the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and
grandparents of Jesus. They were probably well off. Tradition says that Anne was
quite elderly when Mary wars born, and that she was their only child. Both
Joachim and Anne agreed that Mary would be given to the service of the temple
when she was three years old – an ancient and honored tradition of the Jewish
religion. Devotion especially to Anne has been popular in the East from the
very early days of the Church; widespread devotion in the West began in the 16th
century. There are many shrines devoted to St. Anne throughout the world.
The
name Anne means “grace.” This corresponds well with the intensity
of the devotion that many have for her – she is a quintessential maternal
figure – and a grandmotherly one too. She is a great intercessor to her
grandson, Jesus, who could hardly refuse anything she might request on our
behalf.
St. Joachim thought himself to
be punished by God for being childless with his wife Anne, until God granted
him this great and awesome privilege late in his life to be the father of the
Mother of the Creator! It was his prayers too that proved him to be an outstanding
intercessor on behalf of any who need something very special and worthwhile.
St.
Anne, St. Joachim, pray for us to be true to the image of
Christ your grandson who is being formed within us each day by all the
experiences of our lives, joyful and sorrowful as they might be!
They
yearned for the comforting of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested upon them.
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