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On July 26th the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of Saints Anne and Joachim, the parents of our Blessed Mother and the grandparents of Jesus.

We actually don’t know much about these two special parents and grandparents and what we do know about them comes to us through legend and tradition.

According to Catholic Online, “For those who wonder what we can learn from people we know nothing about and how we can honor them, we must focus on why they are honored by the church. Whatever their names or the facts of their lives, the truth is that it was the parents of Mary who nurtured Mary, taught her, brought her up to be a worthy Mother of God. It was their teaching that led her to respond to God’s request with faith, “Let it be done to me as you will.” It was their example of parenting that Mary must have followed as she brought up her own son, Jesus. It was their faith that laid the foundation of courage and strength that allowed her to stand by the cross as her son was crucified and still believe.”

I recently wrote a post for Peanut Butter & Grace titled 10 Simple Ways to Celebrate Saints Joachim and Anne. If you aren't familiar with Peanut Butter & Grace and how they make Catholic family life sweet and simple, be sure to follow their site and follow them on Facebook!


In the post I mention one way we celebrate this feast day. Last year I started the tradition of having my parents and in-laws over for dinner as a way to celebrate and honor Jesus' grandparents and my kids' grandparents.  My children are blessed to be able to live 20 minutes away from both sets of grandparents and see them on a regular basis which is a blessing I didn't have while growing up.

Here are a few photos from this year's celebration.  My father was out of town visiting family this year so he was unable to join us for the pasta, salad, bread, and fruit meal.

The book on the left is Saints and Angels and the book on the right is Picture Book of Saints.

After I read information about Saints Anne and Joachim and said grace we snapped some photos of both sets of grandparents and then of my children sitting in front of them.

 
This feast day is also my oldest daughter's "Name Day" because her middle name is Anne like myself and we were both named after my grandmother whose first name is Anne.  So she ate her meal on her "You Are Special Today" plate that we try to remember to have our kids eat on when each of my children have their birthdays, baptism anniversaries and name day celebrations.

Like last year's post, I'll close this post with this beautiful Grandparents' prayer which I thought is perfect for this feast day:

Good Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, 
parents of Mary and grandparents to Jesus, 
be with me and all grandparents 
that we may be wise and loving, 
may share our time and stories and sense of humor, 
and may enjoy and not spoil too much the grandchildren 
who are close to our hearts, 
for they are the sign of God's life to us. 

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, 
be with our grandchildren and all other grandchildren 
that they may love and respect their grandparents 
and all older people, 
may remember to call, 
visit or write, 
and grow in wisdom, 
age and grace before God.

Amen.

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