Saint Joachim, Confessor

Saint Joachim, husband of St. Anne and father of Blessed Virgin Mary, belonged to the tribe of Juda and the House of David. From time immemorial he has been honored in the Churches of the East, and since the 16th century public devotion to him has been observed in all countries. His feast is assigned to August 16th. Of the life of this saint, the evangelists have revealed nothing to us. Tradition, grounded on very old testimonies, informs us that Saint Joachim and Saint Anne in their old age, came from Galilee to settle in Jerusalem, and there the Blessed Mother of God was born and reared; there also they died and were buried. A church was built during the 4th century, possibly by Saint Helena, on the site of the home of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne in Jerusalem.
“Mother of God”: such is the title which exalts Mary above all creatures; but Joachim, too, is ennobled by it; he alone can be called, for all eternity, Grandfather of Jesus. In heaven even more than on earth, nobility and power go hand in hand. Let us, then, with the Church, become humble clients of one so great.
Husband of holy Anne, thou showest us what would have been in paradise; thou seemest to have been reinstated in primeval innocence, in order to give birth to the Immaculate Virgin; sanctify Christian life, and elevate the standard of morals. Thou art the Grandfather of Jesus: let thy paternal love embrace all Christians who are His brethren. Holy Church honors thee more than ever in these days of trial; She knows how powerful thou art with the Eternal and Almighty Father, who made thee instrumental, through thy blessed daughter, in the temporal generation of his Eternal Son.

Lives of the Saints & The Liturgical Year, XIII

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