The Annunciation of St . Joachim with the Birth of the Virgin Mary .

On this day, God sent His honorable angel Gabriel to announce to St . Joachim23 of the birth of theVirgin, the mother of the incarnated God . This righteous man and his wife St . Anna (Hannah) werestricken in years and had no children for Anna was barren . The children of Israel used to insult himbecause he had not begotten a son . Because of this, these two saints were sad, and prayed continually,and entreated God by day and by night . They vowed that the child they would beget would be made asteward for the temple .While St . Joachim was praying over the mountain, he fell into a deep sleep and Gabriel, the angel of theLord, appeared to him and announced to him that his wife Anna would conceive and bear a child, thatwould delight his eyes and please his heart; and likewise all the world would rejoice and be glad . Whenhe woke from his sleep, he came to his house, and told his wife about the vision, which she believed .Anna conceived forthwith, and brought forth our Lady, the Virgin Mary, and St . Anna became morehonorable than all the women of the world .May her intercession be with us . Amen .