Glorious St. Anne, mother of the Mother of God, intercede for us that we may live holy lives and be pleasing to God. You who gave birth to the Blessed Virgin Mary, guide us in our faith and strengthen us in times of need. Through your intercession, grant us the grace to love God and our neighbor as you loved Jesus and Mary. Amen.

St. Anne, you who are close to the throne of God, intercede for us in our time of need. Seek our requests before the Lord and bring them before Jesus, your grandson.

…

I will slap this bitch.

The thought plays out in my mind, I imagine a sharp crack across her face as I listen to the grating voice of a self-righteous fool.

The call started simply enough—an invitation to resolve something I wasn’t even sure needed resolution. Why I was asked to explain why I was talking about events that directly affected me still boggles my mind.

But not as much as the fact that she, of all people, a proven cheat, was now telling me someone else had cheated, as if that somehow cleansed her slate. Hypocrisy is fascinating. I wondered for a minute if she were convincing herself that she was better or different from the worthless entity she would always be.

Now she was on about standards. The same person who suddenly found smoking acceptable simply because the man in question carried a passport that wasn’t green.

I couldn't help but wonder—was that what inspired her willful blindness? Did the color of his passport help her pretend she hadn’t noticed his roving eyes? Or was she too obsessed with her best friend to see what her man was doing?

Strengthen me in times of need, St. Anne. I need patience to listen to the rant of a bitter person. Boundaries? The same ones she felt confused about, wondering why distance had to be created with each new partner her friend got, or the ones she enforced so well that her partners had problems with her way of friendship. The entire conversation is focused on protecting her image.

I imagine myself watching her as she talks. What is she thinking? Is this a front for Ronke? Is this an intercession for him? Does she believe that if she confesses the sins of a man, it will mean something different? Will the blood of another person wash her clean? The thing is, I know that this is for you. This call is to protect your name in ways your actions can not. 

When we speak of insecurity, do you consider how you stretch to every man, uncomfortable in singlehood, finding love, connection, anything to fill the existing hole? Am I supposed to pretend that I don’t know that at your core, you are empty, and not even love will fill you up? When you speak of a hard life, should I let you know that this is still you being a snake? The most irritating thing about you is the way you hide and pretend. Never taking accountability, never owning up.

When you want to look at a cheat, isn’t all you need a mirror? 

St. Anne, I pray for this soul, for she can never be holy if she does not confront her cruelty.