Beautiful St. Anne and St. Joachim

St. Anne is a beautiful saint and I am so blessed to have her as my patron saint. I really like the name Anne, which means grace. It is kind of funny though because anyone who sees me knows that I am rather clumsy, not graceful. I think I am similar to her, however, because I love children and I want to be a mother and teacher very much. St. Anne is a very special saint because she is the mother of Blessed Mother and the grandmother of our Savior, Jesus. She is also a wonderful model for Christian mothers and is the guardian of children. In addition, she is a beautiful example of pure womanhood and of Christian family life!

St. Anne's husband, St. Joachim, is also a good role model for us to imitate. They both show us how important it is for us to trust God. They both hoped that they would have children for a long time. They prayed and trusted in God and then... God sent Mary to St. Anne and Joachim!

They were such a good example of loving, humble, and virtuous parents who showed much kindness to Mary and taught her through their daily work. St. Anne, especially taught Mary the ways of motherhood and prepared her to be the mother of Jesus.

I could not just pick one picture because they are all so incredibly beautiful...

 

(I love this one!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite stained glass windows. I often found myself sitting in the same spot whenever I would go into the chapel to pray. Then I looked closely and realized I was sitting next to a picture of St. Anne... :)

 

Remember to ask St. Anne for her intercession. She is a very good intercessor as she is very close to Jesus because she is His grandmother.

The Memorare asking for St. Anne's intercession is a good prayer.

"Remember, good Saint Anne, whose name means grace and mercy, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or 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 Savior, do not reject my appeal, but hear me and answer my prayer. Amen."

 

Her feast day is on Sunday and I am so excited!

St. Anne, please pray for us.

  

The Importance of a Simple Smile

"We may never understand all the good that a simple smile can do" ~Mother Teresa :)

 

 

Picture of the book Mother Teresa and Me. You should read it! :)

People who talk to me a lot know that I love Mother Teresa and that I especially like her quotes about smiling. I often post quotes about smiling with my pictures. And no... it is not just because I am smiling in the picture and the quote just happens to go perfectly with it. So why do I smile so much? Why do I like the idea of a smile so much? At first this might seem a bit silly to think smiling is so important, but the main reason why I do this lies in Mother Teresa's words. "I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish." It is just a simple smile, but at the same time it is not simple. It is actually quite profound.

The past couple of days I kept thinking about her smile quotes and then I started remembering a particular incident that reminded me of the importance of a simple smile. It had been a long day at school and I had just finished my last class. Shortly after, I walked into the cafeteria at my school. I did not have a smile on my face at all because I was so incredibly exhausted, so I probably looked very sad and tired. The long lines did not help with this at all. After getting my food, I happened to glance over at the bakery and the bakery man had the biggest grin on his face. His giant smile was so beautiful and it made me smile. He must have been tired standing on his feet for so long repeatedly handing out the famous chocolate chip cookies to all the college students, but he never stopped smiling.  Later, I realized that I kept smiling when I walked into the cafeteria after that. Each time I came up to the bakery man, he said, "She is always smiling," or "Always smiling" to me with that same giant grin on his face.

I did not really realize right away why I kept smiling particularly whenever I walked into the cafeteria, but then I realized it. His smile was contagious. I was smiling because he was making me happy with his smile. Whether or not he realized it, he taught me a lesson and Mother Teresa helped as well. I realized that even though I was tired from my classes, I needed to smile. They reminded  me that a simple smile has so much goodness in it. If someone is having a bad day, that smile might be the only thing that will brighten their day. You never know how happy you might make someone feel from that little grin you wear.

After this incident, I started experimenting with this and smiled more often. At the nursing home I sing at, I smiled at the elderly people. They looked so happy when I smiled and they smiled back. At the eye doctor, I was smiling and laughing with my mom while I was waiting. The nurse looked very tired as she walked through the hallway, but she happened to glace into the room I was in and immediately smiled when she saw me laugh. I smiled at my adorable little niece and she giggled back. This of course is my favorite... making children happy. :)

Mother Teresa says, "Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." When you smile at someone, you reflect God's love for them. You help to radiate Christ wherever you go. By giving a simple smile, you are showing them a great deal of love and kindness. This IS a beautiful thing.

So next time you go somewhere, try smiling at someone. Even if you are exhausted or do not feel very well, just smile anyway. People will notice and you will start to touch peoples lives with your smile. :)