However God has a different plan for her she recalled that in 1898 at the age of 16 Jesus revealed to her that she will suffer a lot for a very long time. On February 4, 1907 while she were performing her household chores St. Anna accidentally slipped her legs and feet into a pot of boiling water. Her journey towards her "mission of suffering" following Jesus the Crucified Lord begins here. Her health condition worsened that caused her to stay on her sickbed for the remaining 25 years of her life trying to recognize God's will in her suffering and offering her life as a sacrifice of atonement for sins. She courageously said that "Even if mountains of suffering pile up in front of me, I will still trust in Jesus." for "My greatest strength is the Holy Communion!" the "sunny source of grace"
St. Anna received her mystical stigmata on October 4, 1910 on the very feast of her seraphic father St. Francis of Assisi. She desired that the stigmata be hidden from human eyes so that she can continue her silent endurance of suffering.
In addition, God endowed special graces and heavenly consolations to St. Anna Schaffer among these extraordinary signs of grace is the vision of Our Lord through her "dreams". She wrote " I call it a "dream" because I cannot think of any other way to describe it".
Bishop Rudolf Graber on the 50th death anniversary of St. Anna Schaffer describes her suffering and extraordinary graces that "lightened through the interior joy that was given to her from her mysterious contact with the Saviour, the. Mother of God the angels and the saints.
She used her remaining time and energy to her extensive and admirable apostolate on her sickbed like a key that would open the heavenly gates. She wrote that the "largest is made of raw iron and is heavy in weight that is my suffering. The second is my needle"... that she uses on her needle work and embroidery. "The third is my pen" she also dedicated her time to an extensive letter-writing apostolate comforting others. St. Anna has a special apostolate of intercessory prayer that she wanted to pursue even after her death and promises that "All who call me, I shall help"...and "If I am one of the fortunate ones and make it to eternity, where Jesus is Lord I will be a true intercessor for all of you."
The dying woman received her last Holy Communion in the morning of October 5, 1925 with her usual devotion. Anna gave up her soul to God on the same day with the word on her lips "Jesus for you I live".
In July 11, 1995 St. Pope John Paul ll bestowed the heroic decree of virtue on her and she was beatified on 1999. Pope Benedict XVI canonized her last October 21, 2012. The Pope advised veneration of St. Anna Schaffer to all Catholic's worldwide.
Comments
Post a Comment