On the eve of the festival of the Most Holy Trinity she was thinking what subject she should choose for this treatise, when God, Who disposes all things in due form and order, granted this desire of hers, and gave her a subject. Just at that time she was commanded to write a treatise on prayer, about which she knew a great deal from experience. "This holy Mother," he writes, "had been desirous of obtaining some insight into the beauty of a soul in grace. Thanks be to God that He loves us, despite our failings! Even as far as earthly human activity goes, where would we be if we lacked love as a motivating factor? What purpose would there be to life with no love for either God or man? How awful the world would be if everyone simply served himself or herself. Perhaps even worse, there would be no hope of Heaven. or water, or air, or the myriad gifts of God upon which we depend. Where would we be without God's love? It's sort of scary to imagine such a situation! Indeed, there very easily could be no bread. The Word is Jesus, Who is God, Who is Love. As Christians, we know that Jesus is God, the second person of the Blessed Trinity. Is it fair to interpret this to mean that we live on God's love for us? John 1 tells us that Jesus is the word incarnate. Jesus in Matthew 4: 4 (cf Deuteronomy 8: 3) However, the bishop said Mother Angelica will have “a very honored place” in Catholic history."It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'" Sometimes her comments were “insufficiently nuanced and balanced,” while her “hot temper” could lead her to characterize her opponents unfairly. The bishop granted that Mother Angelica would have recognized she was not perfect. “Mother endured tremendous suffering, both physical and psychological, most of her life, and she appreciated these trials as opportunities for spiritual growth,” he said. Against all odds and expectations, she created an evangelical vehicle without equal in the history of the Catholic Church.”īishop Barron praised Mother Angelica for “her trust in God’s providence, her keen sense of the supernatural quality of religion, and her conviction that suffering is of salvific value.” He lauded her emphasis on prayer, liturgy, the sacraments, the saints, Eucharistic adoration and spiritual warfare. “And yet while her critics have largely faded away, her impact and influence are uncontestable. He said that, during the 1980s and 90s, some of her critics mocked her as a “crude popularizer,” an “arch-conservative” and a “culture warrior.” “She will be sorely missed, but she has left us an ongoing gift in the men and women who continue the great service of the EWTN apostolate.”īishop Robert Barron, an auxiliary of Los Angeles, remembered Mother Angelica as “one of the most significant figures in the post-conciliar Catholic Church in America.” She was “the most watched and most effective Catholic evangelizer of the last fifty years.” “In founding and growing EWTN into a major media resource for the global Church, she achieved things almost everyone thought impossible,” Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, a past EWTN board member, said March 27. Other Catholic bishops reflected on the nun’s life. Supreme Court decision in June could impact the fate of Mother Angelica’s network. Refusal to comply could result in heavy fines. The Becket Fund is defending EWTN in its legal fight against the federal government’s requirement that its insurance coverage include drugs and procedures that violate the Catholic faith and morals, including provision of drugs that can cause abortions. “We mourn her loss, but her legacy lives on in EWTN and in the lives of all those she touched,” Arriaga said. Kristina Arriaga, executive director of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, remembered the nun as “a shining example of courage and faith.”
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