Good St. Anne

Happy Feast Day, St. Anne!

According to Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne, (also Ann or Anna, from Hebrew Hannah, meaning "favor" or "grace") of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ. According to the apocryphal Gospel of James, Anne and her husband Joachim, after years of childlessness, were visited by an angel who told them that they would conceive a child. Anne promised to dedicate the child to God's service. More information about St. Anne is here and I was inspired by Elizabeth Foss' special devotion to St. Anne here.

This year St. Anne is special to me, too, because I realized that her feast day is on the same day that my own sweet grandmother died--July 26, 2002. It's hard to believe that eight years have already gone by since we lost my Grandmother. I still feel like I could pick up the phone and call her up, or that she's still there, down in Texas, ready to pull out something chocolate for us as we play cards around her kitchen table.

Five days after her death, my family held her funeral on a steamy day down by the Texas bayou. At almost the exact same time, my precious KLD was born miles away in Illinois, sweetly continuing the circle of life.

I pray that dear St. Anne, grandmother of Our Lord, can help to bless my own dear Grandmother and my KLD, who will turn eight on Saturday!