The Feast Day of the Maternity of St. Anna

Today is the Feast Day of the Maternity of St. Anna. St. Anna, the wife of Joachim, was barren for a much long time into her advanced age. But God produced a miracle. She conceived, through Joachim, the child Mary, the Blessed Theotokos and Ever-Virgin. St. Anna's pregnancy shows a typological connection to other Old Testament pregnancies such as Sarah's and St. Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, who's memory we also keep today. Her pregnancy also foreshadows that of St. Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist. While the Latins celebrate the memory of the Maternity of St. Anna on the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, many Greek Catholics and all Eastern Orthodox have maintained the Feast Day on December 9, exactly one day short of the nine month gestation. This is to recall that Jesus has a perfect nine month gestation as the Annunciation falls on March 25 and his Nativity falls on December 25, since he is the incarnate God. While Mary is falls short due to her full humanity. While both the Theotokos and St. John the Baptist are purified in the womb, they are purified by God, and thus, fall one day short of perfection.

Today is the Feast Day also of St. Hannah, also called St. Anna, the wife of Elkanah. She was the barren wife who was mocked by Elkanah's second wife, Peninnah, despite Elkanah's stronger favoritism for St. Hannah. St. Hannah prayed that God would be willing to bless her with a child. When he did, she proffered him to the Temple. Much like St. Anna, whom she prefigures, both are barren until God miraculously delivers them a child, and both proffer their children to the service of the Temple as an act of their gratitude to God. The Theotokos would become the Ark of the Covenant, and the Holy Prophet Samuel would become a Judge over all Israel.

I include also here a photo of an icon at my parish. My godfather has told me about the gold-plated hands on the icon in the past. There was a woman at our parish who had also struggled to give birth. She prayed to Our Lady asking for a miracle of a child. The lady became pregnant, gave birth, and as an act of gratitude to Our Lady, she had the hands of the icon plated with gold.