"Good Saint Anne" is the loving way that many Catholics address the mother of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Fifty years after Saint Anne's death, her body was brought to France by Saint Mary Magdalen and her companions in the year 47. Countless churches have been dedicated to Saint Anne all over the world. Canada in particular is devoted to her, and has a beautiful shrine named for her there, called "Saint Anne de Beaupre`" to which people come from everywhere.
Simplicity is the secret by which we gain Saint Anne's
love, her intercession, and her protection. She taught her Blessed Daughter
to read the Holy Scripture, seeing in Her the fulfillment of all its prophesies.
Sensing her daughter's immaculate and incomparable holiness, beauty, and brilliance,
Saint Anne, and her husband and Mary's father, Saint Joachim, presented Mary
in the Temple when she was just three years old, and gave to God and to us
forever. Her feast day and that of Saint Joachim occurs on July 26th.
Great Saint Anne, engrave indelibly on my heart and
in my mind the words that have reclaimed and sanctified so many sinners: "What
shall it profit a man to gain the whole world if he lose his own soul?"
May this be the principle fruit of these prayers by which I will strive to
honor you during this novena. At your feet renew my resolution to invoke you
daily, not only for the success of my temporal affairs and to be preserved
from sickness and suffering, but above all, that I may be preserved from all
sin, that I may succeed in working out my eternal salvation and that I will
receive the special grace of . . . . O most powerful Saint Anne, do not let
me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven,
there with you, you blessed spouse, and your glorious daughter, to sing the
praise of the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
DAY TWO
Glorious Saint Anne, how can you be otherwise than
overflowing with tenderness toward sinners like myself, since you are the
grandmother of Him who shed His blood for them, and the mother of her whom
the saints call advocate of sinners? To you, therefore, I address my prayers
with confidence. Vouchsafe to commend me to Jesus and Mary so that, at your
request, I may be granted remission of my sins, perseverance, the love of
God, charity for all mankind, and the special grace of . . . . which I stand
in need at the present time. O most powerful protectress, let me not lose
my soul, but obtain for me that through the merits of Jesus Christ and the
intercession of Mary, I may have happiness of seeing them, of loving and praising
them with your through all eternity. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
DAY THREE
Beloved of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, mother of the Queen
of Heaven, take us and all who are dear to s under your special care. Obtain
for us the virtues you instilled in the heart of her who was destined to become
Mother of God, and the graces with which you were endowed. Sublime model of
Christian womanhood, pray that we may imitate your example in our homes and
families, listen to our petitions, and obtain our request of . . . . Guardian
of the infancy and childhood of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain the graces
necessary for all who enter the marriage state, that imitating your virtues
they may sanctify their homes and lead the souls entrusted to their care to
eternal glory. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
DAY FOUR
Glorious Saint Anne, I kneel in confidence at your
feet, for you also have tasted the bitterness and sorrow of life. My necessities,
the cause of my tears, are . . . . Good Saint Anne, you who did suffer much
during the twenty years the precede your glorious maternity, I beseech you,
by all your sufferings and humiliations, to grant my prayer. I pray to you,
through you love for your glorious spouse Saint Joachim, through your love
for your immaculate child, through the joy you did feel at the moment of her
happy birth, not to refuse me. Bless me, bless my family and all who are dear
to me, so that some day we may all be with you in the glory of heaven, for
all eternity. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
DAY FIVE
Great Saint Anne, how far I am from resembling you.
I so easily give way to impatience and discouragement; and so easily give
up praying when God does not at once answer my request. Prayer is the key
to all heavenly treasures and I cannot pray, because my weak faith and lack
of confidence fail me at the slightest delay of divine mercy. O my powerful
protectress, come to my aid, listen to my petition . . . , make my confidence
and fervor, supported by the promise of Jesus Christ, redouble in proportion
as the trial to which God in His goodness subjects me is prolonged, that I
may obtain like you more than I can venture to ask for. In the future I will
remember that I am made for heaven and not for earth; for eternity and not
for time; that consequently I must ask, above all, the salvation of my soul
which is assured to all who pray properly and who persevere in Pray. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
DAY SIX
Glorious Saint Anne, mother of the Mother of God, I
beg you to obtain through your powerful intercession the pardon of my sins
and the assistance I need in my troubles . . . . What can I not hope for if
you deign to take me under your protection? The Most High has been please
to grant the prayers of sinners, whenever you have been charitable enough
to be their advocate.
Kneeling at your feet, I beg you to help me in all spiritual and temporal
dangers; to guide me in the true path of Christian perfection, and finally
to obtain for me the grace of ending my life with the death of the just, so
that I may contemplate face to face your beloved Jesus and daughter Mary in
your loving companionship throughout eternity. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
DAY SEVEN
O Good Saint Anne, so justly called the mother of the
infirm, the cure for those who suffer from disease, look kindly upon the sick
for whom I pray; alleviate their sufferings; cause them to sanctify their
sufferings by patience and complete submission to the divine will; finally
deign to obtain health for them and with it the firm resolution to honor Jesus,
Mary, and yourself by the faithful performance of duties. But, merciful Saint
Anne, I ask you above all for the salvation of my soul, rather than bodily
health, for I am convinced that this fleeting life is given us solely to assure
us a better one. Now, we cannot obtain that better life without the help of
God's graces. I earnestly beg them of you for the sick and for myself, especially
the petition for which I am making in this novena . . . through the merits
of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of His Immaculate Mother,
and through the efficacious and powerful mediation. O glorious Saint Anne,
Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
DAY EIGHT
Remember, O Saint Anne, you whose name signifies 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 fly unto you, good, and kind mother; I take refuge
at your feet, burdened with the weight of my sins. O holy mother of the Immaculate
Virgin Mary, despise not my petition . . . . but hear me and grant my prayer.
Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
DAY NINE
Most holy mother of the Virgin Mary, glorious Saint
Anne, I, a miserable sinner, confiding in your kindness, choose you today
as my special advocate. I offer and consecrate my person and all my interests
to your care and maternal solicitude. I hope o server you and honor you all
my life for the love of your most holy daughter and to do all in my power
to spread devotion to you.
O my very good mother and advocate, deign to accept me as your servant, and
to adopt me as you child. O glorious Saint Anne, I beg you, by the passion
of my most loving Jesus, the Son of Mary, your most holy daughter, to assist
me in all the necessities both of my body and my soul. Venerable Mother, I
beg you to obtain for me the favor I seek in this novena . . . . and the grace
of leading a life perfectly conformable in all things to the divine will.
I place my soul in your hands and in those of your kind daughter. I confide
it to you, above all at the moment when it will be about to separate itself
from my body in order that, appearing under your patronage before the Supreme
Judge, He may find it worthy of enjoying His Divine Presence in your holy
companionship in Heaven. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father
Pray for us, Saint Anne!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Glorious St. Anne, filled with compassion for those
who invoke you, with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight
of my troubles, I knee at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present
need under your special protection . . . (mention here). Vouchsafe to recommend
it to your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne
of Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above
all, obtain for me the grace to one day meet God face to face, and with you
and Mary and all the angels and saints praising Him through all eternity.
Amen