Saint Anne
Saint Anne,Mary and baby Jesus (the Lamb of God)
Saint Anne Exists in our Faithful Hearts
She is one of the most admired and prayed-to of Saints, and yet, the bible never mentions her--not even once!
Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, who is herself the Mother of God (Jesus) and so Saint Anne as such is the Grandmother of Jesus.
And yet, we know nothing historical or biblical about her whatsoever.
That, for true Catholics, and true Christians of many stripes, means nothing, because they know, in their hearts, in their faith, (where it really counts) that Saint Anne existed,and in some mystical sense, exists today and for all time and beyond time, just as all the Saints of God do.
St. Anne by Baldung Grien, Hans
Saint Anne de Beaupre--The Quebec Basilica
According to Christian tradition,Saint Anne, (Santa Ana, Spanish; also Ann or Anna) was the mother of the Virgin Mary. Descended from David, her name is a Greek translation of Hebrew Hannah, meaning grace.
Saint Anne is not named in the canonical gospels, or anywhere else in the New Testament. According to the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Santiago, Ana and her husband Joachim, after years of having no children, prayed desperately for God to bless with a child. After this they were visited separately by an angel who told them that their prayers had been answered. Anne promised to dedicate the child to the service of God. After she gave birth to Mary, the couple took the child to the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three.
Saint Anne has always been venerated in the Orthodox churches, but did not gain prominence in the West until the thirteenth century. He later became the subject of controversy over whether she was a virgin when she gave birth to Mary. This led to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, in which Mary was conceived through sexual intercourse between her parents but was born without original sin.
Anne is a patron saint of Quebec and Brittany and patroness of women in labor and miners.
Saint Anne is not named in the canonical gospels, or anywhere else in the New Testament. According to the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Santiago, Ana and her husband Joachim, after years of having no children, prayed desperately for God to bless with a child. After this they were visited separately by an angel who told them that their prayers had been answered. Anne promised to dedicate the child to the service of God. After she gave birth to Mary, the couple took the child to the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three.
Saint Anne has always been venerated in the Orthodox churches, but did not gain prominence in the West until the thirteenth century. He later became the subject of controversy over whether she was a virgin when she gave birth to Mary. This led to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, in which Mary was conceived through sexual intercourse between her parents but was born without original sin.
Anne is a patron saint of Quebec and Brittany and patroness of women in labor and miners.
Information on Joachim and Anne is derived from apocryphal literature, like Gospel of the Nativity of Mary, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Protoevangelium of Jacques, also known as the ; Infancy Gospel of James. The oldest is the Proto-Gospel of Jacques and is dated d about 150, the other two seem to have based their writings at least part of this document and the oral tradition or the imagination.
The Protoevangelium was once honored as the Writing by Christian churches, among the Greeks, Syrians, Copts and Arabs.
Portions of it were read on the feasts of Mary. Jacques de Voragine only after the embedded story Anne and Joachim in his Golden Legend in the thirteenth century did the leaders Western Church to give a lot of attention, as the cult of Mary was approaching its zenith in the wake of the Ministry of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. After that, Anne has become very popular in the Latin Church, and even spawning a controversy as to whether Anne herself was a virgin when she gave birth to Mary.
The Protoevangelium was once honored as the Writing by Christian churches, among the Greeks, Syrians, Copts and Arabs.
Portions of it were read on the feasts of Mary. Jacques de Voragine only after the embedded story Anne and Joachim in his Golden Legend in the thirteenth century did the leaders Western Church to give a lot of attention, as the cult of Mary was approaching its zenith in the wake of the Ministry of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. After that, Anne has become very popular in the Latin Church, and even spawning a controversy as to whether Anne herself was a virgin when she gave birth to Mary.
The Archangel Gabriel appears to Jochaim and announces the birth of Mary to St. Anne.
Anne's story
In the sources, Joachim (pronounced 'Joe-ah-kim') and Anne were married for many years in Nazareth, but childless. When Joachim was offering sacrifice in the temple, he was rejected because he was unworthy, as he had no descendants. Joachim was shattered and went into the mountains to make his case with God. There he prayed and fasted for 40 days. Anne feared for his life and said: I regret that I am a widow and I lament that I am childless She asked God to take away their sterility and promised to dedicate her child to His service.
The Infancy Gospel of James by Anne allegedly created a psalm in her grief. It reads:
God answered their prayers when an angel appeared to Anne with the words: Anna, the Lord has watched over your tears, you will conceive in your womb and bear the fruit of thy womb, and is to be blessed by all the world
Meanwhile, Joachim received his own revelation and had returned from his watch. When Joachim with his flocks were in view; Anna ran and wrapped herself around his neck and said, Now I know that God has blessed me greatly. I am no longer a widow ! You have returned alive. And the barren and the childless woman has conceived in her womb. (IGY 4:9)
Anne gave birth to a daughter, Miriam, or Mary. When Mary was three years old, her parents allegedly took her to the temple of Jerusalem, in fulfillment of their promises, where they were proclaimed to all.
In the sources, Joachim (pronounced 'Joe-ah-kim') and Anne were married for many years in Nazareth, but childless. When Joachim was offering sacrifice in the temple, he was rejected because he was unworthy, as he had no descendants. Joachim was shattered and went into the mountains to make his case with God. There he prayed and fasted for 40 days. Anne feared for his life and said: I regret that I am a widow and I lament that I am childless She asked God to take away their sterility and promised to dedicate her child to His service.
The Infancy Gospel of James by Anne allegedly created a psalm in her grief. It reads:
Oh me, how I was born? What caused my mother's womb to grow?
Because I was born before the children of Israel I am cursed.
I'm insulted, and they treat me with contempt
and threw me out of the temple of the Lord, my God.
Oh I am what I like? I'm not like the birds of heaven,
for the birds of the heaven are fruitful before thee, O Lord.
Oh, what am I like? I'm not like the domestic animals,
for the domestic animals are fruitful before thee, O Lord.
Oh I am what I like? I am not like the beasts of the earth,
who are fertile before Thee, Lord.
Oh I am what I like? I'm not like these waters,
for these waters before you are fertile, Lord.
Oh I am what I like? I'm not like the earth because the earth produces fruit in season and will bless you, sir. (IGY 3)
God answered their prayers when an angel appeared to Anne with the words: Anna, the Lord has watched over your tears, you will conceive in your womb and bear the fruit of thy womb, and is to be blessed by all the world
Meanwhile, Joachim received his own revelation and had returned from his watch. When Joachim with his flocks were in view; Anna ran and wrapped herself around his neck and said, Now I know that God has blessed me greatly. I am no longer a widow ! You have returned alive. And the barren and the childless woman has conceived in her womb. (IGY 4:9)
Anne gave birth to a daughter, Miriam, or Mary. When Mary was three years old, her parents allegedly took her to the temple of Jerusalem, in fulfillment of their promises, where they were proclaimed to all.
Anne teaches Mary the Hebrew Scriptures
Prayers to Saint Anne
St Anne Prayer (to some special favor to obtain)
Glorious St. Ann, full of compassion for those who call you and with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my problems, I throw myself at your feet and humbly beg of your blessings to the current affair, which I recommend to take under your special protection.
St. Ann, please, recommend your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus, so He can bring it to a happy issue.
St. Ann do not stop to intercede for me until my request is granted. (Here, ask for the favor you wish to obtain.)
Above all, obtain for me the grace of one day beholding my God face to face, and with you and Mary and all the saints, to bless Him for all eternity. Amen.
Good St. Ann, the mother of her who is our life, our sweetness and our hope, pray for her and for us to obtain our request. (Three times).
Glorious St. Ann, full of compassion for those who call you and with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my problems, I throw myself at your feet and humbly beg of your blessings to the current affair, which I recommend to take under your special protection.
St. Ann, please, recommend your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus, so He can bring it to a happy issue.
St. Ann do not stop to intercede for me until my request is granted. (Here, ask for the favor you wish to obtain.)
Above all, obtain for me the grace of one day beholding my God face to face, and with you and Mary and all the saints, to bless Him for all eternity. Amen.
Good St. Ann, the mother of her who is our life, our sweetness and our hope, pray for her and for us to obtain our request. (Three times).
