Saint Anysia of Salonika ​

Anysia was born to a wealthy and pious Christian family in Salonika, Greece in 284 AD. She lived in Thessalonica during the reign of the cruel Maximian Galerius under whose reign, there was much persecution of Christians. She dedicated herself to vows of chastity and poverty, praying and helping the poor. The legend of her martyrdom states that in 304, a Roman soldier apprehended her as she was on her way to Mass. Discovering she was a Christian, he beat her, and intended to drag her to a pagan temple to sacrifice to Roman gods. When he tore off her veil (a reminder of her vow of chastity), she spit in his face, and he murdered her.

REFLECTION

At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:38 

There’s a whole lot of waiting going on here, isn’t there? We’ve recently arrived at the end of Advent, a season of joyful expectation, a season of waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promise in the birth of Emmanuel, God With Us. So it seems timely that today, we reflect on another experience of waiting, the waiting of one of God’s saints, the prophetess Anna. Not only was she always at home in the Temple, she was always fully present to God, worshiping, fasting and praying “night and day” (verse 37). Clearly, Anna lived in a state of readiness. Her prayerful attentiveness enabled her to recognize the child Jesus and announce his presence to all who, like her, were also waiting and hoping. In our times of waiting today, may we pray to recognize the Holy One in every one whose path intersects with ours.