St. Anne’s Day is
July 25
. With the bishop's blessing we celebrate the feast on the Sunday before. It offers us an opportunity to focus once a year on her kindness to us and her many prayers for our health and our salvation.
Throughout the centuries, St. Anne has particularly been associated with marriages, families, and children. Though our individual circumstances differ, our parish has been strongly marked by these realities. Some have endured the pain of loss, and mourn a child or a relationship. Our Orthodox faith does not teach us that success is the hallmark of our lives. Sts. Joachim and Anne are celebrated not just because they gave birth to the Theotokos, but that they did so in old age, towards the end of lives marked by faithfulness in the midst of suffering. Their suffering and patience became part of the inheritance of the Mother of God who had to bear so much herself.
We ourselves are always in need of such patience. The gifts of family and children are not the reward for our lives, but the beginning of a long life of loving endurance. Such a life can best be fulfilled in the midst of others who are just as committed to our marriages and family and children. These days, that can be a rare phenomenon.
There will be a Cross procession at the end of the Liturgy. Bring your favorite icons! The children will lead the congregation, following the Cross and the Gospel.
