The Basics: Born February 18, 1882, in Germany; died October 5, 1925, in Germany; canonized October 21, 2012, by Benedict XVI; feast day, October 5; laywoman.
The Story: Anna’s life was far from easy, but she had a plan: she would become a missionary. To earn her dowry and to help her family, she went to work at age thirteen. A few years later, she left a job after she saw a man holding a rosary who said she would suffer a great deal before she was twenty. The vision proved to be correct: Just before her nineteenth birthday, Anna, working as a laundress, found herself in a vat of boiling lye up to her knees.
Surgeries were unsuccessful, and Anna and her mother, estranged from Anna’s siblings, eked out a living on Anna’s disability pension. As one might expect, the young woman initially was angry with God over why her dream had been taken away while she was working so hard. She would never walk again.
To help make ends meet, Anna began doing embroidery work, sometimes with designs of the Sacred Heart for church and chapel linens. People began asking her to pray for them, which
led to written correspondence with people from as far away as the United States. It turned out God had planned for her to be His missionary after all… just in a different way than she had expected.
Anna’s Wisdom: “Every breath shall be an offering of thanks and of love.”
What We Can Learn from Anna: Trust in the Lord can be so difficult when we feel we’ve upheld our end of the “bargain” only to experience disappointment. Where can you show your faith by being patient in your belief in God’s timing?
To Learn More About Anna: You’ll find more about Anna’s life story, including some moving photos, at a site dedicated to her.
To Learn More About Other Women Saints and Blesseds: Come back next week, or consider buying my books, Blessed Are You: Finding Inspiration from Our Sisters in Faith or Sisterhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration.
