Many of us probably remember Mother Angelica from her days on the Catholic channel, which she founded, known as the Eternal Word Television Network, and otherwise known simply as EWTN.
If you have never watched anything from Mother Angelica, you can either tune-in to watch the reruns of her program’s on EWTN or you can go on to YouTube to watch the shows there.
Either way, I would encourage you to watch her for she had everyday wisdom, wit, and holiness, that many of us will find appealing.
One of the things that I most admired about Mother Angelica was her ability to be incredibly straight with people, but still remaining focused on our Lord and seeking holiness.
She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. In a culture where everyone is offended over the smallest things, Mother Angelica’s everyday “straight-forwardness” and truthful words are needed more than ever.
1. Speak the truth
“We don’t like to speak the truth about evil because we’re going to hurt somebody. Let me tell you, you are going to hurt somebody, but that Somebody is God. If you would rather hurt God than your neighbor, there is something wrong with your spirituality. It’s your obligation to speak the truth and everyone can either take it or leave it. But truth must be in us. We live is such poverty of truth today.”
2. Seek to do good
“Don’t kid yourself. The Lord sees every good act, every attempt you make to be holy. Many times, though we experience failure, He blesses our efforts. He sees it all: the kind words, the times you’ve held your tongue, or contained your anger. He keeps an eye on your heart, endlessly.”
3. Strive for everyday holiness
“I want you to have a new concept of holiness. You’ve got to be holy where you are: washing the dishes, at the office, at school. Where you are, you can be holy there.”
4. Holiness and sleeping
“One-third of your life is spent sleeping. If you are sixty, that’s twenty years! But do we give our sleep to the Lord before retiring each night? We should say, ‘Lord, I united my sleep tonight to your sleep: when you were a Babe, when You were grown and tired. I unite it with the nightly rest of the Blessed Mother.’ All of a sudden, there I am snoozing along—but it’s sanctified. I’ve made my sleep holy.”
5. Blood and guts
“Do you know what Christianity is? It’s blood and guts. Christianity is someone that you’re in love with: Jesus the Lord. And when you’re in love with Jesus, you’re going to love your wife more, you’re going to love your husband more, you’re going to love your children more, because only the love of Jesus can make you love deeply, truly.”
6. The invincible soul
“A soul that trusts God is invincible.”
7. Spiritual dryness
“Spiritual dryness is a gift from God, because it removes the soul from the emotional level and puts prayer on the level of the will, where I am a child of God who does the things of God because I decide to do so, not because I am depending on emotions outside of me.”
8. Good morning, sunshine
“I’m Italian by nationality. We’re very short tempered—always mad! Sometimes I wake up in the morning impatient and angry. I would like to get up with vim and vigor, but I don’t. Little things bother me. I get out of bed and I can’t find my brace, or I can’t find my shoes. Then of my sweet sisters comes in and she says, ‘Good morning,’ with a big smile, a loving expression; and something happens to me. My bad temperament just melts away. See, love has power; it’s a force with the power to heal.”
9. Give it all to the Lord
“The man who made my braces had one leg, and there was a brace on it. He said it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He took something tragic and turned it around and made it beautiful. That is what Christians are supposed to do. To give it all to the Lord and unite it to Him with serenity; to not be possessed by anger or resentment.”
10. Saints and suffering
“The saints suffered. Therese had tuberculosis. Teresa of Avila had cancer of the stomach. Padre Pio had perpetual diarrhea and asthma. Bernadette had asthma too. Mother Cabrini had high fever due to malaria she contracted during her travels. Holiness is not for wimps and the cross is not negotiable, sweetheart, it’s a requirement.”
Want more quotes from Mother Angelica? These 10 quotes come from the book, Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality, by Raymond Arroyo.
