Good Saint AnneGood St. Anne, you were especially favoured by God to be the mother of the most holy Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Savior. By your power with your most pure daughter and with her divine Son, kindly obtain for us the grace and the favor we now seek. Please secure for us also forgiveness of our past sins, the strength to perform faithfully our daily duties and the help we need to persevere in the love of Jesus and Mary. Amen. The name Anne stems from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning grace. Information on Saint Anne, wife of Jaochim and mother of Mary, comes mainly from the Protoevangelium of James. We are told how Anne was too old to have children but while praying one day was visited by an angel who relayed to her God's intention that she bear a child. On hearing this Anne promised that this child would be raised to know and serve God. Thus Anne became the mother of Mary who in turn bore Jesus.
The Eastern Church recognized Saint Anne as early as the 6th century. By the 10th century the memorial had extended to the Western Church where it is celebrated on July 26 each year. In 1629 the Santé Mawiómi (Grand Council) adopted Saint Anne as grandmother and patron saint of the Mi'kmaw nation. Annual pilgrimages are made to Chapel Island and Merigomish in Nova Scotia and Sainte Anne de Beaupré in Quebec. Saint Anne is venerated as a family elder. Chosen by God for the task, Anne's teaching and maternal example prepared her daughter Mary to become the Mother of Jesus. Icons typically depict Anne with a book instructing Mary as a child or as loving grandmother with Mary and the infant Jesus together. Holweck, Frederick. "St. Anne." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 24 Jun. 2015. |
Mi'kmaq / Acadian HeritageElements of the Roman Catholic faith were encountered by the Mi'kmaq during the 1500's from Basque, French and Portuguese fishermen. In 1604 the French founded Port-Royal on the Fundy coast. Catholicism was adopted by the Mi'kmaq adjacent to traditional beliefs following Chief Membertou's decision in 1610 to be baptized by Jesuit missionaries. What is now Saint John the Apostle Parish began when Capuchin friars established a chapel at Fort Sainte Marie de Grace in 1632. From this base on the LaHave River about a dozen loggers employed by French entrepreneur Nicolas Denys settled among the Mi'kmaq in Mirlegueche (Lunenburg).
The Catholic faith was practiced in common by Mi'kmaw and Acadian families who maintained close economic ties and kinship bonds. This relationship was tragically interrupted in the 1740's when the balance of colonial power shifted from France to England and Mi'kmaw and Acadian families were pressured to abandon their homes. In 1753 Mirlegueche was resettled with German, Swiss and French Protestants. By 1755 the Great Deportation was officially underway. Post expulsion existence for remaining Mi'kmaw and returning Acadian families was fraught with hardship. Although priests were procured and paid for by the English Crown in an attempt to establish better relations, Catholicism remained marginalized until the 1820's when an increasing Catholic population bolstered by Irish and Scottish immigration and supported by responsible government allowed Catholics to participate in public life. Saint Norbert's Mission was opened in 1840, its name acknowledging the Town of Lunenburg's unique Germanic character. We thank grandmother Saint Anne for her constant intercession on behalf of all families in need. Praising her wisdom and kindness we pray that one day the world will know the peace and healing we have been blessed with through her unfailing love. Prayers and ScriptureFrom 1677 Mi'kmaw Catholic prayers and hymns were written on thin sheets of birch bark using a script called the komqwejw'kasikl containing up to 2,700 ideograms. A variety of orthographies were in use from the 19th century until superseded by the Francis-Smith version in 1980.
Schmidt, David and Marshall, Murdena, ed. "Mi'kmaq Hieroglyphic Prayers." Halifax: Nimbus Publishing, 2006. WorldBibles.org. The Bible in Mi'kmaq. Dedicated by the editors, on behalf of the many contributors, to the grandchildren of Saint Anne. |