The Novena to Saint Joachim and Saint Anne begins on July 17 and ends on the eve of the feast day of Saint Joachim and Anne, July 25.
They are the patron saints of a happy, faithful and holy marriage. We ask for their intercession for the renewal of Christian marriage and the strengthening of all Christian families.
The parents of the Virgin Mary, the grandparents of Jesus, are known by the names Joachim and Anna from a tradition that dates back to the second century, as noted in the document known as the Protoevangelium of Saint James.
Prayer for every day of the novena
Dear Father, through the life, death, and resurrection of Your only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ, we have become Your adopted sons and daughters. Through Baptism, we are now members of Your Body, the Church. Our Savior Jesus taught us that whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, sister, and mother.
We appreciate that the promise includes each of us. (Make a personal request)
As members of the family of Jesus, we turn to you in prayer. In Jesus, we are united in a communion of love stronger than death, together with the saints.
Included in this communion of love are the parents of Mary, the Mother of the Lord Jesus, Joachim and Anna. They are a sign and symbol of the beauty of conjugal love. They are also the maternal grandparents of Jesus.
Good parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grandparents of our Lord Jesus Christ, when life seems barren, help us to trust in God's mercy and to be fruitful.
When we are confused, help us find our way back to God. When we are lost in the wilderness, lead us to those God has called us to love.
Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, pray for us.
Pray an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be.
First Day
Reflection: Saint Anne was called by God to be the mother of the Virgin Mother of Jesus the Lord, and so nature did not dare to anticipate the flowering of grace. Thus nature remained barren until grace produced its fruits. For the one who was to be born had to be a firstborn daughter, since she would be the mother of the firstborn of all creation, Jesus Christ, in whom all things are made new and held together.
Saint Anne, mother of the Mother of the Lord, pray for all Christian mothers and pregnant women.
Second Day
Reflection: Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, what a blessed couple you are! All creation is indebted to you. For at your hands the Creator has received a gift that surpasses all other gifts:
A chaste mother, the only one worthy of Him. Your love for one another, rooted and grounded in love for the Lord, produced a daughter named Mary, who would become the Mother of the Lord Jesus.
Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, Patrons of a holy marriage, pray for all couples.
Third Day
Reflection: And so, rejoice, Saint Anne, you who were barren and had no children; burst out crying out, you who did not give birth. Rejoice, Joachim, because from your daughter a son has been born to us. For this child is the Incarnate Word, this child is God.
Pray for us, Joachim and Anna, that Jesus Christ may be the center of our Christian marriage and family life. May we be a true domestic church.
Fourth Day
Reflection: Joaquim and Ana, what a blessed couple you are! How holy and pure is your love. How intimate and beautiful in the eyes of God is your communion.
By the fruit you bear you will be known, as the Lord says: By their fruits you will know them.
Her conduct of life was pleasing to God and worthy of her daughter. Her conjugal embrace was fertile and bore fruit for the woman whose YES brought heaven to earth and earth to heaven.
Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, pray for us, that we may be fruitful and faithful to the Lord in our family life, spreading the kingdom of God.
Fifth Day
Reflection: Through the chaste and holy conjugal life that you led together, you formed a jewel of virginity: She who remained a virgin before, during and after giving birth.
She alone would forever maintain her virginity in mind and soul as well as in body. She was chosen to give birth to the Author of Life.
Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, pray for all Christian couples, that they may fully live their Christian vocation in the Lord and for His Church.
Sixth Day
Reflection: Joaquim and Ana, what a chaste couple! What a happy marriage and what a wonderful home.
By keeping the chastity prescribed by the law of nature, you achieved with God's help something that transcends nature by giving the world the Virgin Mother of God as your daughter.
The woman who would become the Ark of the New Covenant and Tabernacle of the Messiah of the whole world.
Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, pray for a renewal of chastity and conjugal fidelity in the domestic church of the Christian family and of the entire Church of Jesus Christ.
Seventh Day
Reflection: Joachim and Anna, leading a devout and holy life in their human nature, you gave birth to a daughter more noble than the angels, of whom she is now queen.
A girl of extreme beauty and delight, a daughter of Adam and mother of God.
Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, pray for all Christian couples, that they may live their vocation as a holy vocation, making it a path of holiness and a road to heaven.
Eighth Day
Reflection: Daughter of Joachim and Anne, Mary, blessed are the arms that carried you, and blessed are the lips of your parents, who allowed them to cover you with chaste kisses, always preserving your virginity.
Let all the earth rejoice in God; let them sing, be glad, and make music.
Raise your voice, raise it and don't be afraid.
Holy Mary, Mother of the Lord Jesus and daughter of Joachim and Anna, pray for us.
Ninth Day
Reflection: Joaquim and Ana, you teach by your example the vital role of grandparents – and the beautiful vocation of conjugal love and extended family life.
Help all who are called to Christian family life to be vibrant prophetic witnesses of God's loving plan for the family, as the domestic church in the home and the first cell of the Body of Christ,
Through her intercession before the Lord, obtain for all of us the grace to live the vocation of Christian marriage.