Our blog’s patron saint

sanctanomina Powerful patrons

Ages ago (a couple months?), my mom asked me if I’d considered entrusting this blog to a particular patron saint. Or maybe she suggested that I do so?

I think I was noncommittal in my answer — there are a million saints I love, for one thing, and the idea of picking one seemed enormous and somewhat arbitrary. I mean, there isn’t a patron saint of names or namers (yes, I just googled it to be sure!) … there are a bunch related to motherhood of course, but is that what I should focus on? I’m a lay Dominican — should I restrict my options to Dominican saints? I chose my roses (sidebar) when I first started the blog as the symbol and avatar of Sancta Nomina — mostly because I like roses, and I love that there are the name quotes by Shakespeare and Anne Shirley that reference roses:

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” (Romeo and Juliet)

“I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I’ve never been able to believe it. I don’t believe a rose WOULD be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage” (Anne of Green Gables)

And of course, roses are so associated with Our Lady. So maybe her? She probably seemed the most likely candidate, but then she has so many titles — would I pick just one? Which one?

It was all sort of overwhelming and any time I thought about it I felt stressed out, which is weird, because I don’t tend to stress out over this blog.

But then I was praying a novena to St. Anne recently for some loved ones, which was new to me — I admit I haven’t given her a whole lot of thought in the past, but I had some particular intentions and I came across a novena to her in my Mother’s Manual that seemed to be just perfect, and I found myself adding to my list of intentions “all the readers of my blog, including those who are mothers or who want to be, and those who are hoping for a baby or are suffering from the loss of a baby or from infertility.”

Funny, though I’d never really thought to pray for you, as soon as it came to me I was all of course. Of course I should be praying for all of you who are so interested in the beautiful holy names (sancta nomina) of our faith. And so you were included in my novena to St. Anne, which included the words, “Continue to intercede for me until my request is granted,” so though my novena ended after nine days, I have full confidence that you’re all under St. Anne’s special protection for the long haul. I’ve thought many times since the end of my novena to pray for you all, and every time I do I specifically ask St. Anne for her intercession.

So it occurred to me that, sort of accidentally (though of course not), St. Anne has become the patroness of this blog. I believe she chose us! And when I looked up what she’s the patron of (some I knew, but some I didn’t), she did seem pretty perfect: childless people, expectant mothers, grandmothers, grandparents, mothers, pregnancy, pregnant women, women in labor, and against sterility. I think that covers everyone who might read this blog.

And not only that, but St. Anne was married to St. Joachim, who is one of my favorite saints and bears one of my very favorite names. AND — they named Mother Mary.

That’s some serious business for a Catholic name blog.

I’m delighted at this development. One of my grandmothers was Anne, and she was warm and loving and made wonderful things to eat — I think of St. Anne the same way! With the craziness we’re surrounded with and bombarded by in our everydays, I’ve often thought of our little spot here as a haven, where we can have a happy little natter about names and not worry about the things that weigh us down. That feels grandmotherly to me, sweet and cozy and safe.

St. Anne, pray for us.

St. Anne was the mother of the Virgin Mary, and the grandmother of Jesus. She was mother to the Mother of God! Because of this, mothers in every generation have called upon St. Anne to help them with their needs, especially in raising their children …

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 kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present need under your special protection … (Mention your request).

I implore you to recommend it to your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus.

Cease not to interceded 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, to praise Him through all eternity. Amen.

~ Mother’s Manual, edited by Bart Tesoriero (2003)

St. Anne, pray for us
St. Anne, pray for us

49 thoughts on “Our blog’s patron saint”

  4. Awww, it’s probably the pregnancy hormones, but I’m about to cry. Thank you for reminding us of this special patroness to all. And thank you for your prayers. Its just so lovely how the communion of saints makes a family of we women from all over and even from all of history.

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  6. I, too, love St Anne! She is go-to novena lady. And how sweet that you are praying for us! Thank you. If I was with you in real life, I’d be giving you a hug now. 🙂 🙂

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  9. This is probably one of my most favorite blog posts ever! Thank you SO much for the prayers as they are much needed in my life right now. And, I am especially glad St Anne found her way to patroness of this lovely blog spot. She has moved way up on my list of favs recently. Now, I will think of her every time I click by your page 🙂

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  10. This is beautiful! There is totally a grandmotherly comfort in the discussions we have here 🙂 I’m so happy that St. Anne appointed herself patroness!

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  18. […] (1) Annabel Given Genie’s husband’s love of all things Scottish and her hope for a Marian name, Annabel was one of my very first thoughts for them! Behind the Name says Annabel is a “Variant of AMABEL influenced by the name ANNA. This name appears to have arisen in Scotland in the Middle Ages” … Amabel is a “Medieval feminine form of AMABILIS,” who was a fifth century (male) saint, but Amabilis is a “Late Latin name meaning “lovable”” — the very name used in the Marian title Mater Amabilis — Mother Most Amiable (where amiable=lovable). How great is that?? A pretty specifically Scottish Marian name! I love Annabel (could also spell it Annabelle), mostly for its Marian meaning, but also because visually it connects to St. Anne, one of my personal patrons and of course the patroness of this blog. […]

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