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ST ANNA SCHAFFER - 5 OCTOBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER

Saints celebrated on the 5th of October

 Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST ANNA SCHAFFER 

[On] 5th October, one of the saints remembered by the Church is St Anna Schaffer. 

She was born Mindelstetten, Bavaria, in 1882. Her father died at the age of 40 and left the family in great poverty. 

St Anna left school at the age of 14 to work to earn money for the family. She hoped eventually to enter into religious life. In 1898, St Anna had a vision of Jesus in which she was told that she was destined to endure long and painful suffering. 

In 1901, while working in a laundry, St Anna fell and her legs were very badly scolded with boiling liquid. After a year in hospital and having undergone more than 30 operations, St Anna was allowed home as an invalid. The skin grafts had not worked and she was now immobile. 

St Anna had to abandon her hope for religious life and remain at home, being looked after by her mother until the end of her life.

St Anna came to accept her suffering for God. A local abbot would bring her Holy Communion every day. She wrote: 'I cannot write by pen how happy I am every time after Holy Communion. Ah, I forget my earthly suffering and the longing of my poor soul draws me every moment to adore my God and Saviour hidden in the Blessed Sacrament.'

Over time, St Anna supported her mother and herself by sewing, welcoming visitors and by writing her thoughts in notebooks. She wrote: 'I have three keys to heaven. The biggest is made out of iron and is heavy - it is my suffering. The second is the sewing needle and the third is the penholder. With these different keys, I strive each day to open the door to heaven,'

From 1910 St Anna received the stigmata. In order to avoid any sensationalism, she asked God to remove the visible signs. After that she experienced only the pains of the wounds. 

She was diagnosed with colon cancer and on October 5 she received Holy Communion for the last time. She spoke the words, "Jesus, I live for you!" and she died five minutes later. Anna was declared a saint by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

St Anna Schaffer, pray for us.

***

PRAYER TO ST ANNA SCHAFFER, INTERCESSOR FOR THE DISABLED AND ACCIDENT VICTIMS 

Glorious St Anna Schaffer, intercessor for the handicapped, bedridden, and accident victims, plead for us. You became disabled after an accident when boiling your employer’s laundry which left you severely burnt and scarred. Dear Saint, you were humble, pure and patient. Please obtain for me from our risen Jesus the request I make of you (mention your request). Be kind to me for the greater glory of God, and I shall honour you and spread your devotion far and wide.

Dear St Anna, by your stigmata you miraculously participated in the sorrowful passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faced with extreme financial hardship which was made worse by your inability to work any longer, you never lost hope and started knitting garments for people, since you could still use your hands. We implore you to also intercede for those who are faced with money problems due to disability. You suffered pain, prayed when you could not sleep at night and always kept your deep love and gratitude for our Lord. Obtain for me the grace of Christian hope and serenity. Assist me also to bear any sufferings of this life with pious resignation and with a positive attitude, and protect me in all my needs. Amen.

Our Father…, Hail Mary…, Glory be…

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