Today's Saint (August 16 ): Joachim, Father of the B.V.M.

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Joachim is the father of the Virgin Mary and the spouse of Anne.

There is no mention of Joachim in Scripture, as the gospel focus is rather on Christ, not on providing exhaustive genealogical accounts.

What we do know of him is taken from the old but non-historical apocryphal work, the Gospel of James.The name of Joachim, in Hebrew, means "preparation of the Lord." As Saint Epiphaes said, "Is not he, in fact, who prepares the Temple of the Lord, the Virgin?"

It is a good day to pray for all fathers, and to ask God's blessings on all families. "His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the faithful shall be blessed." (The days Tract, page E 106, The People's Anglican Missal.)

Catholic Encyclopedia article
The day's propers

Books Worth Considering
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Oxford Paperback Reference)
The Penguin Dictionary of Saints: Third Edition (Dictionary, Penguin)

www.episcopalnet.org