St. Anne is the mother of the mother of God. The old mother. The granny. The crone. The mother before the mothers. Devotion to her was particularly popular in Brittany, an area of France in which Christianity feels like a thin veneer over much older devotions to the earth. Devotion to her traveled to Canada with the French. Anna is the name of the old seer who “recognizes” Mary for who she really is outside the temple.
She is a barely concealed fertility goddess and petitions to her are often about love and marriage, children and family. An old rhyme is “Good St. Anne bring me my man!” The St. Anne rosary is super simple and fast for busy grannies:
For Yeshua: An Our Father, Five Hail Marys, A Glory Be, JesuMariaAnna
For Miriam: An Our Father, Five Hail Marys, A Glory Be, JesuMariaAnna
For Anna: An Our Father, Five Hail Marys, A Glory Be, JesuMariaAnna
Good St. Anne Pray for Us 3x
We will offer up our petition for this novena and then say the St. Anne Memorarae:
Remember, O Good Saint Anne, whose name means grace and mercy, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, and sought your intercession, was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence, I come before you, sinful and sorrowful. Holy mother of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, and loving grandmother of the Saviour, do not reject my appeal, but hear me and answer my prayer.
For those who would like to join us we do a traditional 9-day novena to St. Anne starting on July 18th and ending on July 26. All are welcome.