Saints Joachim and Anne

"The Meeting of Joachim and Anne at the Golden Gate" by Fra Filippo Lippi

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Joachim is the name which tradition has given to the father of the Blessed Virgin.  According to that same tradition, the Blessed Virgin was born during the old age of her parents and in answer to their prayers.  Saint John Damascene says of these parents, "By your fruits are you known; you have given birth to a daughter who is greater than the angels and has become their queen."

Saint Anne... is believed to have given our Lady to the service of the Temple at the age of three.

Source:  The Prayer Book

Saints Joachim and Anne

Holy Family with Sts. Joachim and Anne by Giovanni Bellini

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PRAYER FOR GRANDPARENTS

Lord Jesus,
you were born of the Virgin Mary,
the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne.
Look with love on grandparents the world over.
Protect them! They are a source of enrichment
for families, for the Church and for all of society.
Support them! As they grow older,
may they continue to be for their families
strong pillars of Gospel faith,
guardian of noble domestic ideals,
living treasuries of sound religious traditions.
Make them teachers of wisdom and courage,
that they may pass on to future generations the fruits
of their mature human and spiritual experience.

Lord Jesus,
help families and society
to value the presence and roles of grandparents.
May they never be ignored or excluded,
but always encounter respect and love.
Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed
in all the years of life which you give them.
Mary, Mother of all the living,
keep grandparents constantly in your care,
accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage,
and by your prayers, grant that all families
may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland,
where you await all humanity
for the great embrace of live without end. Amen!

Prayer source

Whose Patron is St. Anne's?  See following list provided by Mary Jane.

Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
against poverty
Boschi Sant'Anna, Italy
Brittany, France
Broommakers
Saint Anne the patron saint of cabinetmakers
Canada
Ann the patron saint of Carpenters
Castelletto d'Erro, Italy
childless people
Corinaldo, Italy
Detroit, Michigan, archdiocese of
Equestrians
France
Saint Anne the patron Saint of Grandmothers
Saint Ann patron saint of grandparents
Anne the patron saint of homemakers
horse men
horse women
St. Ann the patron saint of housewives
lace workers
lost articles
Marsaskala, Malta
Micmaqs
Miners
Molo, Philippines
Anne patron saint of Mothers
Norwich, Connecticut, diocese of
Nueva Valencia, Philippines
old-clothes dealers
poverty
St Anne the patron of pregnancy
St. Ann patron saint of pregnant women
Quebec, Canada
Santa Ana Indian Pueblo Riders
San Joaquin, Philippines
Seamstresses
stablemen
sterility
Taos, New Mexico
Turners
Saint Anne patron saint of women in labor

Sts. Joachim and Anne

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PRAYER TO ST JOACHIM AND ST ANNE

Great and glorious patriarch, St Joachim, and good St Anne, what joy is mine when I consider that you were chosen among all God?s holy ones to assist in the fulfillment of the mysteries of God, and to enrich our earth with the great Mother of God, Mary most holy. By this singular privilege, you have become most powerful with both the Mother and her Son, so as to be able to obtain for us the graces that are needful to us.

With great confidence I have recourse to your mighty protection, and I commend to you all my needs, both spiritual and temporal, and those of my family. Especially do I entrust to your keeping the particular favour that I desire and look for from your intercession.

And since you were a perfect pattern of the interior life, obtain for me the grace to pray earnestly, and never to set m heart on the passing goods of this life. Give me a lively and enduring love for Jesus and Mary. Obtain for me also a sincere devotion and obedience to Holy church and the sovereign pontiff who rules over her, in order that I may live an die in faith and hope and perfect charity. Let me ever invoke the holy Names of Jesus and Mary. And may I thus be saved. Amen.

Source: Air Maria: The Model Grandparents - Saints Joachim and Anne

Be sure to visit The Catholic Grandparents Association