Today is the feast day of St Anne and St Joachim. Tradition teaches us that they were the parents of the blessed virgin Mary and grandparents of Jesus. St Anne is my patron saint too as i was baptised as Anna Maria.
I often wondered at the multitude of saints and devotions that the church has. I struggled to know how to choose a devotion. One of the many spiritual fruits of my second pregnancy and child birth is the realization that God provides the devotions we need when we need them. Or as i read in one Catholic mom's blog, "the saints find us".
Devotion to St Anne is the devotion that God provided me with through this pregnancy. St Anne "found me" this pregnancy although she has been my patron lifelong. It started with my due date. I was elated when the early dating scan revealed that the due date was 26 July 2022, the feast of St Anne. Knowing that St Anne is the patron of pregnancy and child borth, I felt hopeful that perhaps a VBAC (vaginal birth after C section) and the wish for a girl child would come true for us this time. Neither came true :D
But therein lies the depth of God's providence. He works in ways we cannot know ahead.
My second child, a baby boy, was born on 9th July, 2022 through an emergency c section. I had been in natural labour for more than 32 hours prior. Baby had to be taken to NICU and was kept there for over 14 days. We had to be patient and just keep praying. It was such a blessing that the chapel, in the catholic hospital where we were, was just few meters from our room. So i could go for daily mass, daily adoration and confession in a way that i couldnt if i were at home! Such a big difference the sacraments make to not just our spiritual life but also to our physical, mental, emotional.
We started the 9 day novena to both St Anne (feast: July 26) and St Alphonsa (feast: July 28) with the sure hope that baby Paul would be discharged by the time of either feast day. And so it is. Baby Paul is being discharged today, on the feast of St Anne, the grandmother of Jesus, who i felt so close and dear to through out this pregnancy. This is not coincidence but God-incidence. This is just one of the many many moments where i v had God communicate His love and protection to me in a very personal way.
Blessed be God. Blessed be His most holy mother Mary. Blessed be His angels and saints.
Comments