July - The Month of Saint Anne

Holy Church has a particular dedication for each month of the year. May is dedicated to our Blessed Lady and June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. July is dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of our Lord, the price paid for our salvation which was part of our Lenten devotions. However, during the month of July, we shall take a diversion from the official dedications and reflect on Good Saint Anne, the mother of our Lady and the grandmother of Jesus. This is especially appropriate since the festival of Sts. Anne and Joachim is celebrated on the 26th of July. Additionally, St. Anne is one of the most beloved of all the saints and thousands of pilgrims will be making their way to her shrines in Auray and Apt (France) Jerusalem (Palestine), Fall River and Sturbridge (Massachusetts), Isle la Motte (Vermont), Detroit (Michigan), New York (New York), Scranton (Pennsylvania), New Orleans and Metairie (Louisiania), and of course the world center of devotion, Saint Anne de Beaupre, Quebec. In spirit let us join them each day as we pray our devotions and grow in our love for this good saint.

Our reflections will be taken from the Pilgrim's Manual of St. Anne de Beaupre written by a Redemptorist Priest. I have rearranged the material to keep the order we have been using over the past months and edited only spelling and obscure words no longer in use.

It is my hope that you will find these devotions profitable. Let us pray for one another.

Fr. Scott, C.Ss.R.