Reminds me of a true story: ca. 1970s my folks take a #HolyLand trip with several others from church. Ma, self-proclaimed #CountryBumpkin collects souvenirs & puts up a very impressive shelf in our home with things from their very meaningful trip. It's very cool. It included (...cont'd...)

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

Message from the Holy Land: Peace is not an illusion but a life choice

Violence begets death and destruction, revenge begets hatred and pain. News and pictures from Gaza and other war-torn…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #christmas #HolyLand #Latvia #LV #Palestine #peace #religiousorders
https://www.newsbeep.com/323268/

First Bible Map of the Holy Land “one of publishing’s greatest failures and triumphs.”

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://theorkneynews.scot/2025/12/08/first-bible-map-of-the-holy-land-one-of-publishings-greatest-failures-and-triumphs/

500 years ago, a Bible map🗺️ rewrote the world.But it wasn’t the truth — it was a vision of power.
#BibleHistory📖 #AncientMaps #CartographySecrets #HolyLand✝️ #HistoricalMyths #RenaissanceMaps #NationStateOrigins #Storytelling #DidYouKnow #HistoryFacts #DocumentaryShort #WeirdHistory
Read more: https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/first-map-bible-00102344

On #ThisDayInHistory in 1095 at Clermont, #PopeUrbanII issued a call to #Crusade. He said people of all ranks should march for the #HolyLand to rid it of the "vile race" (i.e., #Muslims) who had taken lands from "friends" (i.e., #OrthodoxChristians, who were not their friends..).

The Holy Land inspired three bestselling books that have more devoted fans than Harry Potter.
Visit the only place that's a more popular backdrop for blockbuster books than Hogwarts.
#art #bethlehem #desert #egypt #film #frogs #holyland #israel #jaffa #jerusalem #jordan #map #masada #mediterranean #middleeast #palestine #security #sights #telaviv #tour
https://www.crosbyreport.com/travel/the-holy-land-inspired-three-bestselling-books-that-have-more-devoted-fans-than-harry-potter/?fsp_sid=176

A quotation from Robert Ingersoll

   “And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thy hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword. But the women and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself, and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies which the Lord thy God hath given thee. Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. But of the cities of these people which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth”
   Is it possible for man to conceive of anything more perfectly infamous? Can you believe that such directions were given by any being except an infinite fiend? Remember that the army receiving these instructions was one of invasion. Peace was offered upon condition that the people submitting should be the slaves of the invader; but if any should have the courage to defend their homes, to fight for the love of wife and child, then the sword was to spare none — not even the prattling, dimpled babe.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, agnostic, orator
Lecture (1872-01-29), “The Gods,” Fairbury Hall, Fairbury, Illinois

More info about this quote: wist.info/ingersoll-robert-gre…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #robertingersoll #robertgreeningersoll #slaughter #atrocity #Bible #destruction #God #infamy #invasion #OldTestament #war #warcrimes #holyland

Christian clergy in Gaza defy evacuation orders to remain with their flocks

In a joint statement, the Latin Catholic and Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Jerusalem call on both parties to…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #ChurchAroundtheWorld #HolyLand #IL #Israel #MiddleEast
https://www.newsbeep.com/87564/

Pope Leo joins Jerusalem Patriarchs’ call for peace in Gaza

Pope Leo XIV has united his voice to the Latin and Greek Orthodox Patriarchs’ joint appeal for an…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #appeal #audiences #ecumenism #HolyLand #peace #PopeLeoXIV #World
https://www.newsbeep.com/86697/

The Playboy Mansion, LA: I’ve finally found my dream house.
I finally get to visit the home of my dreams: The Playboy Mansion.
#air #american #book #california #dreams #holyland #isp #london #losangeles #offer #playboy #privacy #reading #sanfrancisco #short #thanks #tour #video
https://www.crosbyreport.com/travel/the-playboy-mansion-la-ive-finally-found-my-dream-house/?fsp_sid=110

Patriarch Pizzaballa: ‘Hearts can change even in the Holy Land’

Ahead of the Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace on August 22, called by Pope Leo XIV,…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #HolyLand #interview #peace #PierbattistaPizzaballa #PopeLeoXIV #prayer #World
https://www.newsbeep.com/75762/

📍 Medieval Palestine wasn’t just a battleground.

It was a demographic battleground.
Population shifts, migrations, and resettlements tell a story no sword ever could.

#Brewminate #Crusades #History #MedievalStudies #HolyLand

🔗 https://brewminate.com/between-cross-and-crescent-demographic-currents-in-the-medieval-holy-land/

Pope Leo calls for ceasefire in Gaza during phone call with Israeli PM Netanyahu

In the wake of the Israeli strike on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, Pope Leo XIV…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #church #Death #HolyLand #Israel #Latvia #LV #PopeLeoXIV #religions #War
https://www.newsbeep.com/4779/

#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#Angra
Temple of Shadows
Waiting Silence

YouTube Search:
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Angra+Temple+of+Shadows+Waiting+Silence

Songwhip:
https://songwhip.com/Angra/Waiting-Silence

LastFM:
https://www.last.fm/music/Angra/_/Waiting+Silence

Lyrics:
https://genius.com/Angra-waiting-silence-lyrics

#Angra #RafaelBittencourt #KikoLoureiro #AndreMatos #BrazilianMetal #PowerMetal #ProgressiveMetal #HolyLand #Fireworks #Lisbon

Quote of the day, 19 June: St. John Paul II

As we read in the canonical decree of beatification, “the humble servant of Christ, Mary of Jesus Crucified—belonging by lineage, rite, vocation, and pilgrimage to the peoples of the East and in some way representing them—is like a gift offered to the universal Church by those who, amid the wretched conditions of struggle and bloodshed in which they are immersed, especially now turn with great trust of heart to her fraternal intercession, in the hope that also through the prayers of the Servant of God, peace and harmony may finally be restored to those lands where ‘the Word became flesh’ (Jn 1:14), He who is himself our peace.”

Blessed Mariam was born in Galilee. For this reason, today our prayerful thoughts turn in a special way to the land where Jesus taught love and died so that humanity might be reconciled.

“That Land,” as I recalled on another occasion, “for decades has seen two peoples opposed in a hitherto irreducible antagonism. Each of them has a history, a tradition, a story of their own, which seem to make it difficult to reach an agreement” (John Paul II, Angelus Address, 4 April 1982).

Today more than ever, the threats hanging over us urge us to make love and brotherhood the fundamental law of social and international relations, in a spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness—taking inspiration from the way of life exemplified by Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified, not only for her people but for the entire world.

May this new way of life give us peace based not on terror, but on mutual trust.

With the Psalmist, let us pray through the intercession of the new Blessed, that the Lord may grant peace to her land:

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.’ For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’ For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good” (Ps 122:6–9).

Saint John Paul II

Homily, Beatification of St. Mary of Jesus Crucified
13 November 1983, St. Peter’s Basilica

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

Featured image: A canonization banner of Saint Mary of Jesus Crucified (Mariam Baouardy) hangs from St. Peter’s Basilica, framed by a Palestinian pilgrim’s flag at the 2015 canonization Mass. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (Used by permission).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
What’s one concrete way you can help promote peace in the Holy Land, following the vision of St. John Paul II and St. Mary of Jesus Crucified?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#HolyLand #peace #StJohnPaulII #StMaryOfJesusCrucified #terror #trust

Researchers Used A 1,500-Year-Old Map To Find A Lost City - Excavators Determined Tharais Was A Religious Hub Of The Byzantine Empire
--
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a64978262/tharais-byzantine-lost-city/ <-- shared technical article
--
https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/4243913 <-- shared paper
--
“ • Researchers recently found one of the many lost Holy Land cities in Jordan.
• The team used maps and field surveys to identify the site.
• Experts believe the lost city Tharais wasn’t just an agricultural village—it may have also been a spiritual hub…”
#map #mapping #ancientmap #ancienthistory #Tharais #HolyLand #Jordan #surveys #MadabaMosaicMap #geography #AncientRome #RomanEmpire #city #archaeology #Byzantine #urban #settlement #Karak #excavation #MiddleEast #desert

Quote of the day, 31 May: Jessica Powers

The second bead: scene of the lovely journey
of Lady Mary, on whom artists confer
a blue silk gown, a day pouring out Springtime,
and birds singing and flowers bowing to her.

Rather, I see a girl upon a donkey
and her too held by what was said to mind
how the sky was or if the grass was growing.
I doubt the flowers; I doubt the road was kind.

“Love hurried forth to serve.” I read, approving.
But also see, with thoughts blown past her youth,
a girl riding upon a jolting donkey
and riding further and further into the truth.

Sr. Miriam of the Holy Spirit, O.C.D.
(Jessica Powers)

The Visitation Journey

Powers, J 1999, The Selected Poetry of Jessica Powers, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: A donkey used for transportation through the sandy mountains near the Dead Sea in Israel, pictured outside an Arab village on a clear day. Image credit: Approved Photography / Adobe Stock (Asset ID#: 1270220352)

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Am I willing to journey with love, even when the road is rough and the truth unsettling?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#BlessedVirginMary #HolyLand #inspiration #JessicaPowers #journey #poetry #SrMiriamOfTheHolySpirit #Visitation

I want to take a moment to register my disgust with the massively dangerous #antisemitic zionazi movement and it's backers murdering an entire population for real estate in #Palestine and the so called #holyland

In it's current form I no longer believe #israel has the right to exist.

The fact that this slaughter is happening at all in broad daylight with full Western complicity is a stain on us all that won't wash off for generations.

The architects and participants will be brought to justice one way or another eventually. The global shame will not wash off so easily.

#peace

On #GoodFriday my Lenten devotional #TheDisciplesWay from #ForwardMovement encourages attending worship services rather than providing a verse of Scripture to reflect on. This seems like an excellent opportunity to remind (or inform) everyone that funds collected today as part of the #Episcopal Church’s #GoodFridayOffering benefit the #Anglican Province of #Jerusalem & the #MiddleEast You can learn more about this historic partnership, now in it’s 103rd year! or make a donation online at: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/good-friday-offering/

“No matter how we understand the causes of violence in the #HolyLand we can surely agree that we must support our fellow Anglicans in alleviating the devastating #humanitariancrisis now unfolding in #Gaza ,” [Presiding Bishop Sean] Rowe said [in a recent statement regarding last week’s missile attack on the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem]