Saint Angela Merici

Today, January 27, is a special day in the Catholic Church calendar, a "feast," that is, a holy day to commemorate a sacred mystery or event, or, as in today's feast, to celebrate the life of a particular Saint. In our modern culture, we take note of the birth dates of famous figures. In the Church, the birth date we remember is the one that launched them from this life to the next. Today marks the date that Saint Angela Merici followed Jesus into glory. That holds special significance for me because I look to Saint Angela as my "Patron Saint" . . . and the inspiration for my writing identity. (The picture featured is from the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, Maple Mount, Kentucky.)

When I made my profession of faith in the Catholic Church, I had the choice of whether to take the name of a Saint. At the urging of some close prayer partners, I prepared for confirmation by exploring the lives of some of the Saints and asking the Lord who, if anyone, I should select. So prayerfully I pondered this, learned a lot about others who have gone before us with holy lives, and on the eve of my confirmation I felt a strong sense that the Lord was introducing me to Saint Angela. I liked her from the moment we met. If this lady and I had lived in the same community, I've no doubt we would have enjoyed many delightful conversations over a cup o' Joe.

I confess, one of the things that initially drew me to her was her name and her culture. I love the name Angela, and given my own cultural heritage, I was pleased to connect with another Italian. I learned that when she was 10, she and her sister were orphaned and went to live with an uncle. When she was growing up, the unexpected death of her older sister troubled her deeply: She wanted reassurance that her sister was with the Lord. It is said that the Lord gave her a vision, revealing that her older sister was indeed in heaven with the Saints. And that was another thing that drew me to Angela—the relationship she had with her sister. Over the years, my sister Jeanette and I have had sort of a tag-team relationship when it comes to spiritual things, a dynamic that began when I was 10. I could imagine Angela and her sister as another version of Jeanette and me, albeit 500 years earlier.

On the threshold of her adult years, Angela's uncle died, and she decided to return to her paternal home in Desenzano, Italy. It was there that she felt a burden for the girls and young women in her community, the desire to find a way for them to receive an education, particularly in the basics of their Christian faith. So she started her own school. (Yes, it was at this point when I began to realize, Here is a soul mate. . . .) Her school enjoyed such great success that she was invited to come to nearby Brescia and began another work there among the girls and young women. Angela was light years ahead of her time in her vision for educating single women, and that didn't escape the notice of people in high places.

In 1525 Pope Clement VII heard of Angela’s success as an educator and invited her come to Rome, to use her skills there to fulfill needs. But it wasn't simply her abilities that commended Angela to the Holy See. It was dramatic evidence of her intimate relationship with the Lord.

In 1524, Angela had purposed to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Midway on her journey, while on the island of Crete, she suddenly became blind. That traumatic experience did not dissuade her. She continued her journey and visited the Holy Places as planned. A few weeks later, on her return home, she stopped at the same place where she had become blind. There she prayed before a crucifix . . . and there she regained her sight.

This sounds like the stuff of legends, but historical documents testify to the substance of her story. Indeed, the validity of her experiences had traveled before her to the Pope himself. When they finally met, Pope Clement requested that Angela oversee a religious order of sisters who practiced nursing. She said no.

It was at this point when I knew, I like this woman a lot, not because she refused the Pope's offer, but because she realized she had to be true to her calling. Her passion was stirred by seeing the needs of those around her, single women who, in that day and age, would have been denied an education were it not for Angela's vision and leadership. This was radical thinking in her day. I like her style. Angela went on to establish a formal group of women that would grow and continue after her lifetime, later known as "Angela's Company of Saint Ursula," or the "Ursulines," the first group of "women religious" (I know—that phrase sounds odd) to work outside the cloister. Angela felt it was important for young women to connect with the people in their world—they had so much to offer. The work she founded went on to become the first teaching order of women.

In 1540, at age 70, Saint Angela knew she was about to cross over. Even near death she comforted the women in her order, who dreaded losing her: "I shall continue to be more alive than I was in this life, and I shall see you better and shall love more the good deeds which I shall see you doing continually, and I shall be able to help you more." (Catholic Online at www.catholic.org/) [Another reliable source: Catholic Encyclopedia at www.advent.org/] (You can learn more about Saint Angela and read a collection of her writings at http://www.ursulinesmsj.org/.)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, led us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. . . ." (Hebrews 12:1,2).

Thanks for letting me introduce you to one of my close friends.

Runnin’ with a bucket,

“Angela”

Cup O' Joe With Angela O

Every picture tells a story. . . .