As a woman of faith, I look to up to many holy woman saints. One in particular, Saint Anne, is a saint whom I have drawn close to over the years. No matter your state in life, Saint Anne is a role model for all of us women as we strive to be holy on our path to sainthood.
Little is known about Saint Anne; however, we can get some insight about her life from other saints who had private revelations and visions. Public revelation refers to the Deposit of Faith our Lord left His Church, which includes the teachings of Christ and the Scriptures, as well as the living, teaching authority of the leaders of the Church we call the Magisterium. Private revelation refers to revelation that is granted by Our Lord, Our Lady, or the Saints that is not necessary for salvation, but aids us in deepening our understanding of the faith and our union with Christ.
One of the texts that contains private revelations that are approved by the Church, meaning that they can be piously believed by the faithful, is the Life of Mary As Seen By The Mystics complied by Raphael Brown. This book includes private revelations from Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, Venerable Mother Mary of Agreda, St. Bridget of Sweden, and St. Elizabeth of Schoenau. According to this book, Saint Anne was born in Bethlehem to a rich family. Even as a young child she loved to pray and think about God. These virtues continued on in her life. She was a modest and simple person (The Life of Mary As Seen By the Mystics, p. 26-27).
When Saint Anne became of age to marry, she prayed to God to give her a husband who would help her to worship God (The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics, p. 26-27). So often we feel that everything relies on our shoulders. Sometimes we try try to “make” things happen when we want our way. But it is not up to you to “make” things come about. You are only to work with God’s Will. To know His Will you must pray. If you are single, ask the Lord to find you a worthy husband, to prepare your own heart for your future husband, and to help you wait patiently for His Plan to come to fruition. Likewise, if you sense a call to religious life or consecrated life, the Lord will make known to you that He is your spouse. But you must continue to pray to the Lord to prepare your heart for your spouse and your religious vocation. The Lord will make very clear to you your vocation as He did with Saint Anne. The Lord sent Saint Gabriel to tell Saint Anne, “The Lord give thee His blessing, servant of God! Continue to pray for the coming of the Redeemer and rejoice in the Lord. It is His Will that thou accept Joachim as thy husband” (The Life of Mary as Seen By the Mystics, p. 27).
Both Saint Anne and Saint Joachim were very devout in their youth. This made them a very distinguished couple. Although very holy, the Lord gave them an incredible cross to bear. As many years passed, they remained childless (The Life of Mary As Seen By The Mystics p. 26-28). Struggling with infertility is extremely difficult in marriage. Whether it is primary or secondary infertility. Infertile couples who long for children can feel like the “odd couple” out even among thriving devout Catholic families. They can have feelings of humiliation, rejection, unworthiness, isolation, and desolation. Saint Anne and Saint Joachim felt these feelings too. Their neighbors and community said awful things towards them about them not having children. Saint Joachim’s offering was also rejected by the high priest because they did not have any children (The Life of Mary As Seen By the Mystics, p. 28-29).
Although Saint Anne and Saint Joachim could of easily given up, it was how they responded to God’s distant plan that makes them great Saints. Instead of turning inward and focusing on themselves or the lack of children, they focused on God and building up His Kingdom. Saint Anne and Saint Joachim began to pray even more fervently for their marriage and children, took mean words from friends with patience and humility, and gave more to the poor (The Life of Mary As Seen By the Mystics, p. 28-29).
Whether we have one child, two children, three, four or ten or more, motherhood is an important vocation no matter how many children we have. Parents are the primary educators of our children. It is our duty to educate them in the faith (CCC 2223). Saint Anne took on the role of educating Mary very seriously. When Saint Anne was visited by the Archangel Gabriel, it was revealed only to Saint Anne (and not Saint Joachim) that Mary would be the mother of Christ (The Life of Mary As Seen By The Mystics p. 30). Saint Anne had a very special task, working in accordance with God, to prepare Mary to be the Mother of Christ. Saint Anne did not simply wait to for the temple or the world to educate her, but she started teaching Mary at a very young age. She taught her prayers, the rules of religion, and most importantly scripture (The Life of Mary As Seen By the Mystics, p. 42). As seen in many pictures and statues of Saint Anne with Little Mary, Saint Anne is teaching Mary through a book, the scriptures. Since, parents are the primary educators, we can never start too soon to educate our children in the faith. No effort is too small. You do not have to wait until they are old enough to talk, you can start as early as the womb!
It is also important to mention, that while some couples who want to have children are sterile or struggle with fertility does not mean that you are any less of a couple. “Physical sterility in fact can be for spouses the occasion for other important services to the life of the human person, for example, adoption, various forms of educational work, and assistance to other families and to poor or handicapped children” (Saint John Paul II Familiaris Consortio).
In Genesis, God tells Noah and his sons, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Now many of us have heard this before. In fact, sometimes this passage is one of the reading during a wedding. What some people can get wrong is that they think the words “fruitful” and “multiple” mean the same referring o children. But being fruitful and multiple have two different meaning. Multiply means the physical manifestation of the marriage union, in which children are conceived. Fruitful means a spiritual manifestation of God’s love in which all people come into contact with His love. Being fruitful applies to our role as a spiritual mother.
Spiritual motherhood can look different from woman to woman. As Saint John Paull II said in the Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem, On The Dignity and Vocation of Women, “Spiritual motherhood takes on many different forms. …It can express itself as concern for people, especially the most needy: the sick, the handicapped, the abandoned, orphans, the elderly, children, young people, the imprisoned and, in general, people on the edges of society. … ‘As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me’ (Mt 25:40).”
Motherhood is a beautiful vocation. Both spiritual and physical motherhood gives so much joy, but it also requires sacrifice. During St. Ann’s years of infertility, her and St. Joachim made a vow to dedicate their child to the service of the Temple, if God gave them one. (The Life of Mary As Seen By the Mystics, p. 29). When they were told by God they would conceive Mary, the couple renewed their vow to give Mary to the service of the Temple. (The Life of Mary As Seen By The Mystics, p. 31). This took place when Mary was about three and a half. Although they were following through with their vow to God and giving Mary to the Temple as His Will, St. Ann and St. Joachim were filled with tears as they said good-bye to their daughter Mary. (The Life of Mary As Seen By The Mystics, p. 45). This was a great sorrow for them because although Mary had the most wonderful vocation, it meant St. Ann and St. Joachim got to spend just over three years with their daughter. With her being in the Temple, they would have no opportunities to see her. As parents, it hard not being able to spend time with our children. When we have to let go of our children for whatever reason, maybe because they are going off to college, moving, going into religious vocations, or getting married, it can be hard to separate ourselves from them. We have to remember, our children are not our children, but God’s alone.
Saint Anne can teach us a lot about spiritual and physical motherhood. Both types motherhoods require sacrifice, charity, patience, humility, detachment, and a lot of prayer. But the fruits of motherhood are beyond our own humanly thinking. One of the fruits of Saint Anne’s motherhood was preparing Our Lady for Jesus Christ. God will also bear fruits in our motherhood just like He did with Saint Anne. The name “Anne” in Hebrew means, ‘God has given grace.’ Just as Saint Anne worked in accordance with God’s Will and His Grace, so must we, so that we can be the mother that Our Lord is calling us to be.
Saint Anne, pray for us! Saint Anne’s feast day is July 26th.
