CHURCHES AND SAINTS

STS. JOACHIM AND ANNE

Parents of Our Lady

Feastday: July 26

Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the Virgin Mary

Sts. Joachim and Anne
Parents of Our Lady

In the Scriptures, Matthew and Luke furnish a legal family history of Jesus, tracing ancestry to show that Jesus is the culmination of great promises. Not only is his mother’s family neglected, we also know nothing factual about them except that they existed. Even the names Joachim and Ann come from a legendary source written more than a century after Jesus died.

The heroism and holiness of these people, however, is inferred from the whole family atmosphere around Mary in the Scriptures. Whether we rely on the legends about Mary’s childhood or make guesses from the information in the Bible, we see in her a fulfillment of many generations of prayerful persons, herself steeped in the religious traditions of her people.

The strong character of Mary in making decisions, her continuous practice of prayer, her devotion to the laws of her faith, her steadiness at moments of crisis, and her devotion to her relatives—all indicate a close-knit, loving family that looked forward to the next generation even while retaining the best of the past.

Joachim and Ann—whether these are their real names or not—represent that entire quiet series of generations who faithfully perform their duties, practice their faith and establish an atmosphere for the coming of the Messiah, but remain obscure.

FEAST OF GRANPARENTS:

This is the “feast of grandparents.” It reminds grandparents of their responsibility to establish a tone for generations to come: They must make the traditions live and offer them as a promise to little children. But the feast has a message for the younger generation as well. It reminds the young that older people’s greater perspective, depth of experience and appreciation of life’s profound rhythms are all part of a wisdom not to be taken lightly or ignored.

SAINT BENEDICT

SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Born:                    ca. 1412, Domrémy, France 

Died:                    30 May 1431, Rouen, France (Then England)

Venerated in:      Roman Catholic Church

Beatified:             18 April 1909, Notre Dame de Paris by Pope Pius X

Canonized:           16 May 1920, St. Peter's Basilica, Rome by Pope Benedict XV

Feast:                    30 May

Patronage:          France ; martyrs; captives; militants; people ridiculed for their piety; prisoners; soldiers; Women Appointed for Voluntary  Emergency Service; Women's Army Corps

BRIEF OVERVIEW:      (http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=295)

St. Joan of Arc is the patroness of soldiers and of France. On January 6, 1412, Joan of Arc was born to pious parents of the French peasant class, at the obscure village of Domremy, near the province of Lorraine. At a very early age, she heard voices: those of St. Michael, St. Catherine and St. Margaret.

At first the messages were personal and general. Then at last came the crowning order. In May, 1428, her voices "of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret" told Joan to go to the King of France and help him reconquer his kingdom. For at that time the English king was after the throne of France, and the Duke of Burgundy, the chief rival of the French king, was siding with him and gobbling up evermore French territory.

After overcoming opposition from churchmen and courtiers, the seventeen year old girl was given a small army with which she raised the seige of Orleans on May 8, 1429. She then enjoyed a series of spectacular military successes, during which the King was able to enter Rheims and be crowned with her at his side.

In May 1430, as she was attempting to relieve Compiegne, she was captured by the Burgundians and sold to the English when Charles and the French did nothing to save her. After months of imprisonment, she was tried at Rouen by a tribunal presided over by the infamous Peter Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais, who hoped that the English would help him to become archbishop.

Through her unfamiliarity with the technicalities of theology, Joan was trapped into making a few damaging statements. When she refused to retract the assertion that it was the saints of God who had commanded her to do what she had done, she was condemned to death as a heretic, sorceress, and adulteress, and burned at the stake on May 30, 1431. She was nineteen years old. Some thirty years later, she was exonerated of all guilt and she was ultimately canonized in 1920, making official what the people had known for centuries. Her feast day is May 30.

Joan was canonized in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.

MEMORIAL:

16 JULY

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL:

O most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel, Fruitful Vine, Splendour of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity (mention your intentions). O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein you are my Mother. O holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart, to succour me in this necessity; there are none that can withstand your power. O show me herein you are my Mother.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. (3 times)
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands. (3 times)

Thank you for your mercy towards me and my loved ones.

Amen.

MEMORIAL:

24 MAY

PRAYER TO OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS:

O Mary, powerful Virgin, thou art the mighty and glorious protector of holy Church; thou art the marvelous help of Christians; thou art terrible as an army in battle array; thou alone hast destroyed every heresy in the whole world. In the midst of our anguish, our struggles and our distress defend us from the power of the enemy and at the hour of our death receive our souls in paradise. Amen.

MEMORIAL:

29 JULY

NOVENA TO SAINT MARTHA:

Saint Martha, I resort to thy aid and protection. As proof of my affection and faith, I offer thee this light, which I shall burn every Tuesday. Comfort me in all my difficulties and through the great favors thou didst enjoy when the Saviour was lodged in thy house. Intercede for my family, that we be provided for in our necessities. I ask of thee, St Martha, to overcome all difficulties as thou didst overcome the dragon which thou hadst at thy feet.

MEMORIAL:

3 DECEMBER

NOVENA TO SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER:

O most lovable
and loving Saint Francis Xavier
in union with thee
I adore the Divine Majesty.
The remembrance of the favors
with which God blessed thee during life
and of thy glory after death
fills me with joy;
and I unite with thee
in offering to Him
my humble tribute
of thanksgiving and of praise.
I implore thee to secure for me
through thy powerful intercession
the inestimable blessing
of living and dying
in the state of grace.
I also beseech thee
to obtain for me
the favour I ask in this novena.

(State your intentions here...)

But if what I ask
is not for the glory of God
and for the good of my soul
do thou obtain for me
what is more conducive to both.

Amen.

Our Father...Hail Mary...Glory Be...

MEMORIAL:

13 JUNE

NOVENA TO SAINT ANTHONY OF PADUA:

MEMORIAL:

Say three Our Fathers, three Hail Marys and Glorias. 

PRAYER TO SAINT PADRE PIO:

O God, Thou didst give Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, Capuchin priest, the great privilege of participating in a unique way in the Passion of Thy Son, grant me through his intercession the grace of . .  .  [name your request] which I ardently desire; and above all grant me the grace of living in conformity with the death of Jesus, to arrive at the glory of the resurrection.

Glory be to the Father . . . [three times].

SAINT JUDE THADDEUS

MEMORIAL:

29 OCTOBER

NOVENA TO SAINT JUDE THADDEUS:

Holy Saint Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depths of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition, in return I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked. Saint Jude pray for us and all who invoke your aid. Amen.

Say 3 Our Father's, 3 Hail Mary's and 3 Glory Be's.