Today is – in the reformed, post-Conciliar calendar – the feast of both Sts. Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grandparents of the Savior. In the traditional calendar it is the feast of St. Anna.
Here is their entry from the 2005 Martyrologium Romanum.
Memoria sanctorum Ioachim et Annae, parentum immaculatae Virginis Dei Genetricis Mariae, quorum nomina ab antiquis traditionibus christianorum ex Iudaeis servata sunt.
I have relics of both Joachim and Anna.
Also sharing the reliquary are St. Nicholas (yes, Santa Claus) and St. Paul, the Apostle, and St. Blaise, of throat blessing fame.
Maybe someone would like to render the Latin of the 2005 MartRom entry into perfect, smooth English?
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(rough translation of the first line )Memorial of St Joachim and Anna, parents of the Immaculate Virgin Mary Mother of God – after that my Latin fails me
This memorial (feast) of the saints, Joachim and Anna, parents of Mary, the Immaculate Mother of God, whose names from the ancient Jewish and Christian traditions has been preserved…
memorial could be feast, of course, as it is today….
The memorial of saints Joachim and Anna, parents of the immaculate virgin Mary, mother of God, whose names, coming from the Jews, were preserved by ancient Christian tradition.
sorry, the names have been preserved, not the feast–entire with this change, … whose names from the ancient Jewish and Christian traditions have been preserved.
The others have translated. I’d like, if I may, to comment on the Memorial.
19 March ought be Fathers’ Day
31 May ought be Mothers’ Day
Today ought be Grandparents’ Day.
As Sid stated, others have translated-so I’m going to comment if you don’t mind, Father Z. : )
What a neat reliquary you have! And you’re so blessed to have relics of BOTH Sts. Joachim and Anna!
I had an aunt who was very devoted to St. Anna. She named her first daughter Anne. She prayed a particular prayer to St. Anne her whole life long, and it was read at her funeral. The pilgrimage hymn from Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre Shrine in Canada was also sung at her funeral [to the tune of the ‘Lourdes Ave Maria’], and on her headstone is carved the invocation, ‘St. Anne Pray For Her’.
I agree with Sid. I always invite people to observe this feast by kindness toward grandparents, visiting or calling those still on earth, and praying for the eternal rest of the others.
I once heard a story of a little kid who proclaimed that “Akim” was the Blessed Mother’s maiden name. After all, according to his logic, her parents were the Akims, Anne and Joe.
“In memory of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, whose names have been preserved from the Jews by the ancient traditions of Christians.”
“19 March ought be Fathers’ Day, 31 May ought be Mothers’ Day, Today ought be Grandparents’ Day.”
Agreed! The Church has more than one “World Day for…” Why not a “World Day for Fathers” on 19 March, etc.?
FrZ,
Every time I see this photo of yours on your blog, I’m amazed……and curious. How can they verify that these are, in fact, the relics of Mary’s parents? Were relics collected back then? Is there documentation?
Also, if we have relics of the parents of Mary, are there any relics of the BVM herself? Or Christ?
I’m jealous, Father; I wish I had a relic of St. Anne, my patron saint. Irishgirl, I will never forget my childhood visit to St. Anne de Beaupre. Even as a child, I was overwhelmed by all the crutches, etc. on display from those who had been healed.
One is tempted to say you need to do DNA testing, and check if Anna carried the same DNA as Jesus (which should be on the shroud of Turin) and Mary (maybe get a sample from that relic containing her milk) to verify it’s the real thing.
;-)
I realize that there are such things as spurious relics, but anytime someone casts doubts on relics, I am reminded of a story of Fulton Sheen. An interlocutor was asking him about the story of the Holy House of Loreto. Surely a man as educated and urbane as Bishop Sheen could not believe the fantastic tale of a house that flew from place to place! Sheen purportedly replied, “I believe that my Lord and God is daily made present under the appearance of bread and wine. Once I’ve accepted that, accepting that a house can be transported by angels is easy.”