Not much is known about the holy St. Anne, except that she was the wife of St. Joachim and the mother of Our Lady. St. Anne gave birth to the Blessed Mother, who had been conceived without original sin in her womb–to Mary, our “life, our sweetness, and our hope” (cf. Hail Holy Queen), who brings us closer to Jesus. Think what a privilege was given to Saints Joachim and Anne, to be Mary’s parents and the grandparents of Jesus!
Devotion to “Good St. Ann” goes back all the way to the fourth or fifth century. She is the patron saint of mothers, grandmothers, pregnant women, and housewives.
The memorial of St. Anne and her holy husband St. Joachim is July 26. St. Anne’s feast day has been universally celebrated since 1584.
Being a wife and mother is a beautiful vocation. Donna Marie Cooper-O’Boyle writes, “A mother’s vocation is to love her family and through that dedicated love, to work out her own salvation [cf. Philippians 2:12] while she is guiding her family to work out theirs as well.”
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who was herself a wife and mother, said, “We know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life. We know that He gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty.” This is so true for the vocation of wife and mother!
St. Gianna Molla, a wife and mother, gave us several gems of wisdom very relevant for other wives and mothers:
“Love and sacrifice are closely linked, like the sun and the light. We cannot love without suffering and we cannot suffer without love.”
“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends to us day after day.”
“The stillness of prayer is the most essential condition for fruitful action. Before all else, the disciple kneels down.”
“Love the Virgin Mary. She is our tender confidant in difficulty. Mary is the mother who cannot ignore our requests.”
“Love your children. In them you can see Baby Jesus. Pray for them a lot and every day put them under Holy Mary’s protection.”
