Today's pick: The Holy Family with Angels (1645) - Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn. #art #Rembrandt #HolyFamily

https://www.artbible.info/art/large/832.html

Latest Podcast now online: FBP 1009 - A Holy Family Is Not A Perfect Family
www.frbill.org/frbillpodcast/2025/12/29/fbp-1009-a-holy-family-is-not-a-perfect-family #HolyFamily

Words to live by always, but especially heading into a new year. Col 3:12-17

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

#Christmas #NewYear #Bible #Jesus #Catholic #Christian #HolyFamily

St. Anne

According to Christian tradition, St. Anne was the mom of the Virgin Mary, wife of St. Joachim, & was Jesus’ maternal grandma.

Her name isn’t in the Bible’s canonical Gospels. In writing, Anne’s name, & Joachim’s come from New Testament apocrypha. The Gospel of Thomas (written circa 150 AD) seems to be the earliest that mentions them. She’s mentioned in the Quran, but not by name.

The Immaculate Conception was eventually made dogma by the Catholic Church following an increased devotion to Anne in the 12th century. In Eastern Christianity dedications start as early as 6th century.

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Anne & Joachim are attributed to the title Ancestor of God. Both the Nativity of Mary & the Presentation of Mary are celebrated as 2 of the 12 Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church.

The Dormition of Anne is also a minor feast in Eastern Christianity. In Lutheranism, it’s believed that Martin Luther chose to enter religious life as an Augustinian friar after invoking St. Anne was jeopardized by lightning.

In the 4th century, & in the 15th century, a belief arose that Mary was conceived of Anne without original sin. The Immaculate Conception is often confused with the Annunciation of the Incarnation (Mary’s virgin birth of Jesus). The 13th century Speculum Maius includes information regarding the life of St. Anne.

In the Eastern church, the veneration of Anne herself may go back as far as circa 550, when Justinian built a church in Constantinople in her honor. The earliest pictorial sign of her veneration in the West in an 8th century fresco in the church of Santa Maria Antique, Rome.

The Feast of the Conception of the Virgin Mary had reached southern Italy by the 9th century. In the Latin Church, St. Anne wasn’t venerated. Except, perhaps, in the south of France, before the 13th century. A shrine at Douai (in northern France) was 1 of the early centers of devotion to St. Anne in the West.

The Anna Selbdritt was a type of iconography showing 3 generations of the “Holy Family,” St. Anne, the Virgin Mary, & Jesus (grandma, mom, son). This style of iconography emphasized the humanity of Jesus. It drew on the earlier conventions of the Seat of Wisdom. (The Seat of Wisdom is/are icons/sculptures that shows the Virgin Mary is seated on a throne with Jesus, as a kid, on her lap.) This was popular in northern Germany in the 1500s.

Two well-known shrines to St. Anne is that of Ste-Anne-d’Auray in Brittany (France) & that of Ste.-Anne-de-Beaupre near the city of Quebec. The number of pilgrims to the Basilica of Ste.-Anne-de-Beaupre is the greatest of St. Anne’s Feast Day (July 26), & the Sunday before the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (September 8). In 1892, Pope Leo XIII sent a relic of St. Anne to the church.

By the middle of the 7th century, a distinct feast day, the Conception of St. Anne (Maternity of Holy Anne) celebrating Mary by St. Anne, was observed at the Monastery of St. Sabas.

It’s now known in the Greek Orthodox Church as the feast of “The Conception by St. Anne of the Most Holy Theotokos.” It’s celebrated on December 9th. In the Catholic Church, the Feast of Saints Anne & Joachim is celebrated on July 26. The alleged relics of St. Anne was brought from the Holy Land to Constantinople in 710 & was kept there in the church of St. Sophia as late as 1333.

During the 12th & 13th centuries, returning crusaders & pilgrims from the East brought St. Anne’s relics to some churches, including most famously those at Apt, in Provence, Ghent, & Chartres. St. Anne’s relics have been preserved & venerated in the many cathedrals & monasteries dedicated to her name.

For example, in Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, & Greece in the semi-autonomous Mount Athos, & the city of Katerini. Duren has been the main place of pilgrimage for Anne since 1506, when Pope Julius II decreed that her relics should be kept there, after they were stolen from the church of St. Stephen in Mainz.

The Church of St. Anne in Beit Guvrin National Park was built by the Byzantines & the crusaders in the 12th century. This is known in Arabic as Khirbet Sandahanna, the mound of Maresha being called Tell Sandahanna.

St. Anne is the patroness of unmarried women, housewives, women in labor or who want to be pregnant, grandmothers, moms, & educators. She’s also a patroness of horseback riders, cabinet-makers, & miners.

As the mom of Mary, this devotion to St. Anne as the patron of miners arises from the medieval comparison between Mary & Jesus & the precious metals: gold & silver. Anne’s womb was considered the source from which these precious metals were mined.

St. Anne is the patron saint of Brittany (France); Cuenca (Ecuador); Chinandega (Nicaragua); the Mi’kmaq people of Canada; Castelbuono (Sicily); Quebec (Canada); Santa Ana (California); Norwich (Connecticut); Detroit (Michigan); Adjunta (Puerto Rico); Santa Ana & Jucuaran (El Salvador); Berlin (New Hampshire); Santa Ana Pueblo, Seama, & Taos (New Mexico); Chiclana de la Frontera, Marsaskala, Tuadela, Atarfe & Fasnia (Spain); Town of Sta Ana Province of Pampanga, Molo, Iloilo City, Balasan; Iloilo, Hagnoy, Santa Ana, Taguig City, St. Anne Shrine, Malicboy, Pagbilao, Quezon, & Malinao, Albay (Philippines); Santana (Brazil); St. Anne (Illinois); Sainte Anne Island; Baie Sainte Anne & Praslin Island (Seychelles); Bukit Mertajam & Port Klang (Malaysia); Kl’ucove (Slovakia) & South Vietnam.

The parish church of Vatican City is Sant’ Anna dei Palafrenieri. There’s a shrine dedicated to St. Anne in the Woods in Bristol, United Kingdom.

Anne is also revered in Islam, recognized as a highly spiritual woman & as the mom of Mary. She’s not named in the Quran. She’s called “the wife of Imran.” The Quran describes her remaining childless until old age. One day, Anne saw a bird feeding its young while sitting in the shade of a tree, which awakened her desire to have kids of her own.

She prayed for a kid & eventually conceived. Imran, her husband, died before the kid was born. Anne expected the unborn kid to be a boy, so she vowed to dedicate “him” to isolation & service in the Second Temple.

Anne had a daughter (Mary) instead. Anne named her: Mary. Anne’s words upon delivering Mary reflect as a great mystic, realizing that while she’d had wanted a son, this daughter was God’s gift to her.

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#12thCentury #12thCenturyAD #13thCentury #1500s #1506 #15thCentury #1892 #4thCentury #710 #7thCentury #8thCentury #9thCentury #Adjunta #Albay #AncestorsOfGod #AnnaSelbdritt #AnnunciationOfTheIncarnation #Apocrypha #Apt #Arabic #Atarfe #Augustinian #Austria #BaieSainteAnne #Balasan #BasilicaOfSteAnneDeBeaupre #BeitGuvrinNationalPark #Berlin #bible #Brazil #Bristol #Brittany #BukitMertajam #Byzantines #California #Canada #Castelbuono #CatholicChurch #Chartres #Chiclana #ChiclanaDeLaFrontera #Chinandega #Christianity #Circa150AD #Circa550 #ConceptionOfStAnne #Connecticut #Constantinople #Crusaders #Cuenca #December9 #Detroit #DormitionOfAnne #Douai #Duren #EasternChristianity #Ecuador #ElSalvador #Fasnia #FeastOfSaintsAnneJoachim #FeastOfTheConceptionOfTheVirginMary #France #Germany #GospelOfThomas #GreatFeastsOfTheOrthodoxChurch #Greece #GreekOrthodoxChurch #Hagnoy #HolyFamily #HolyLand #Iloilo #IloiloCity #ImmaculateConception #Imran #Islam #Italy #Jesus #Jucuaran #July26 #Justinian #KhirbetSandahanna #KlUcove #LatinChurch #Lutheranism #Mainz #Malaysia #Malicboy #Malinao #Maresha #MartinLuther #MaternityOfHolyAnne #MiKmaqPeople #MonasteryOfStSabas #MountAthos #NativityOfMary #NativityOfTheVirginMary #NewHampshire #NewMexico #NewTestament #Nicaragua #NorthernFrance #Pagbilao #Philippines #PopeJuliusII #PopeLeoXIII #PortKlang #PraslinIsland #PresentationOfMary #Provence #PuertoRico #Quebec #Quran #Rome #SainteAnneIsland #SantAnnaDeiPalafrenieri #SantaAna #SantaAnaPueblo #SantaMariaAntique #SeatOfWisdom #September8 #Sicily #Slovakia #SouthVietnam #SouthernItaly #Spain #SpeculumMaius #StAnne #StAnneInTheWoods #StAnneShrine #StAnneSFeastDay #StJoachim #StSophia #StStephen #SteAnneDAuray #SteAnneDeBeaupre #TaguigCity #Taos #TellSandahanna #TheChurchOfStAnne #TheConceptionByStAnneOfTheMostHolyTheotokos #TownOfStaAnaProvinceOfPampanga #Tudela #UnitedKingdom #VaticanCity #VirginMary

The Feast of the Holy Family Year A points us to a home shaped by trust, love, and quiet faith. 🌿 Mary and Joseph followed God’s guidance and cared for Jesus through many challenges.

The readings invite us to honor parents, forgive each other, and build peace at home. 🌟

https://young-catholics.com/3714/the-feast-of-the-holy-family-year-a

#holyfamily #faith #catholic

Quote of the day, 16 December: Blessed Mary of the Angels

Jesus, Mary, Joseph,
most blessed earthly trinity,
I worship and adore you with the deepest affection.
When shall my soul
live all by Jesus,
all for Jesus,
all with Jesus!
You, O Mary, true mother of Jesus,
you, O Joseph, beloved father of Jesus,
obtain for me [the grace] that I
may have a heart only for Jesus.
May it be harder for me
to live without Jesus than to die.
May it be sweeter for me
to die with Jesus than any life.
My most holy father Joseph,
true husband of Mary, worthy father of Jesus,
obtain for me [the grace] that I may always live
as a true servant of Jesus, a true child of Mary.
Into your hands
I commend my poor spirit
and my desolate soul,
In the hour that it will leave this body,
may you receive it in your most holy arms
and place it eternally
in those of Jesus and Mary.
Amen.

Blessed Mary of the Angels (Marianna Fontanella)

Prayer from her writings

Translation from the Italian text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: This is a detail from an etching of the Holy Family by Simon Vouet (French, 1590–1649) created in 1633. It comes from the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Image credit: Cleveland Museum of Art (Public domain)

#BlessedMaryOfTheAngels #HolyFamily #Jesus #prayer #surrender

🟡 Holy Family Rest on the Flight into Egypt 1640 Charles Poërson⁣
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#17thCentury, #Angels, #Bible, #Christ, #HolyFamily, #Jesus, #Joseph, #Mary, #Poerson⁣
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Vintage ◦ Classic ◦ Historical | Art ◦ Design ◦ Inspiration | Restored ◦ Enhanced ◦ Remixed⁣
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Prints, T-Shirts, Stickers, & More by @rocketshipretro via RedBubble → https://bigplanetprints.com/go/g5Yll3

Today's pick: The Holy Family with Angels (1645) - Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn. #art #Rembrandt #HolyFamily

https://www.artbible.info/art/large/832.html

St. Thérèse of Lisieux reflects on Mary’s quiet trust. Misunderstood, Thérèse chose to imitate Mary, who kept all things in her heart. #HolyFamily #BlessedVirgin

http://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/12/28/tej8jul97/

#christmas #holyFamily

Louis and Zélie Martin’s canonization as a married couple offers a model of Christian family life, a high standard to strive for in our times. #HolyFamily

http://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/10/06/tierney-marriage/

Today's pick: The Holy Family (c. 1506) - Michelangelo Buonarroti. #art #Michelangelo #JohnTheBaptist #Tondo #HolyFamily

https://www.artbible.info/art/large/508.html

Today's pick: The Holy Family (c. 1530) - Master with the Parrot. #art #MasterWithTheParrot #HolyFamily

https://www.artbible.info/art/large/995.html

Today's pick: The Holy Family with Angels (1645) - Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn. #art #Rembrandt #HolyFamily

https://www.artbible.info/art/large/832.html

Today, Egypt celebrates the entry of the Holy Family to Egypt, on June 1st. The #HolyFamily traveled from Palestine to #Egypt through Sinai and into the Delta, and then moved as far south as Asyut. They spent almost four years in Egypt. #CopticEgypt #Church #ReligiousTourism

Today's pick: The Holy Family with Angels (1645) - Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn. #art #Rembrandt #HolyFamily

https://www.artbible.info/art/large/832.html

In her unpublished notebooks, St. Mary of Jesus Crucified (Mariam Baouardy) sings her praise to the Holy Family; “Glory and love to Jesus, to Mary, to Saint Joseph. Glory to all the Saints."

The Carmels of Bethlehem and Haifa have kindly shared these notebooks with us. Visit our blog to read this and other quotes from Saint Mariam's Cahiers Réservés:
http://carmelitequotes.blog/2022/12/29/mariam-cr1-2/

#StMaryOfJesusCrucified #MariamBaouardy #Catholic #Carmelite #translation #HolyFamily #feastday #Jesus #Mary #Joseph

The Twenty-Fourth of December- The Christ-Child

"there will always be something new to discover if we only have our eyes and ears open to the remarkable world we live in."

#Advent #Christmas #ChristmasEve #TheChristmasMystery #Illustration #Manger #HolyFamily #Mary #Joseph #Jesus #BabyJesus

சாப்பிடும் வேளையிலாவது செல்போன்களை தவிருங்கள்! #போப் பிரான்சிஸ் மக்களுக்கு வேண்டுகோள்

https://www.patrikai.com/pope-francis-urges-families-to-pu…/

#PopeFrancis #Pope #HolyFamily #HappyNewYear