Monday, July 26, 17th Week in Ordinary Time
SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNE, Parents of the Virgin Mary
The Holy Father will probably give us more information about the maternal grandparents of Jesus in his book on the infancy Gospels, in which he may well cite traditional apocryphal stories about them. Indeed, their names are not mentioned in the canonical Gospels, but come from the apocryphal Proto-Evangelium of James which tells their story and how Mary came to be conceived in Anna's old age. Joachim was said to have been a rich and pious man from the House of David whose offerings to the Temple of Jerusalem were rejected because his barrenness was considered a sign of divine displeasure. He went to the desert to fast and pray for 40 days. During that time, both he and Anna had angelic visions telling them that they would become parents. Giotto's famous painting (first left in the panel) shows them embracing at the city gates of Jerusalem after Joachim returned from the desert. The child was Mary. In gratitude, they took her to the Temple at age 3 and dedicated her to God. She was educated at the Temple until she was betrothed to Joseph. Joachim and Anna are considered the patron saints of grandparents.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/072610.shtml
No OR today.
No announcements from the Vatican so far, but it has belatedly released a still photo showing the Holy Father wearing a baseball cap, from their 'Pope on vacation' photo series:
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 26/07/2010 14:21]