# Novena Prayer to Saints Joachim and Anne – Day 9
*2008-07-26*

> Bill Young leads the final day of the novena to Saints Joachim and Anne, sharing the Apostles’ Creed, prayers from conference participants, and a heartfelt petition to Saint Joachim for couples and families.

## Welcome and Context

Bill Young welcomes listeners to the 123rd episode of Catholic Podcast Ministries – Prayer and Lunch. He notes that the episode is being recorded at the Couples for Christ conference in Miami, with participants joining from across Canada and the United States. This is the ninth and final day of the novena honoring the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

## The Apostles’ Creed

Mel Riaso from the Scarborough‑Markham chapter in Toronto reads the Apostles’ Creed:

“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.”

## Prayers to Saint Anne

Several conference participants offer prayers to Saint Anne, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Each prayer follows a similar pattern, invoking Saint Anne’s intercession for virtues such as patience, gratitude, charity, and steadfast trust, and concluding with the Trisagion: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”

## Prayer to Saint Joachim

Jules Lasserna from Toronto leads a novena prayer to Saint Joachim:

“O great and glorious patriarch, St. Joachim, how glad I am to think that you were chosen among all saints to cooperate in the divine mystery and to bring forth the Mother of God. By the privilege of your intercession, may we obtain the graces we need. I entrust to you my spiritual and material needs, and those of my family and our Couples for Christ community. Grant me detachment from worldly pleasures, a constant love for Jesus and Mary, fidelity to the Church and the Holy Father, and the grace to live and die in perfect faith, hope, and charity. Amen.”

The prayer ends with the Trisagion as well.

## Closing Blessing

Bill concludes by praising God and asking for His blessings on all listeners.

*The final day of the novena reminds us that through the intercession of Saints Joachim and Anne, we are drawn deeper into the love of Christ and the Holy Family.*