![]() ![]() “Whether I am suffering in a physical, mental, or spiritual manner, I resemble Jesus at those moments – and the Father looks at us in our pain and He sees His son in the most beautiful way. But having always considered redemptive suffering a gift, she embraced this last drawn-out trial as she had all those that preceded it. Just don’t let me see the fruit.”įor the most part, she wouldn’t see the fruit. In 2000, following a near-death experience, she shared with me a prayer she had been offering to God: “Lord, I want you to use me in any way you want. Her final bittersweet act was in some ways a conscious oblation of self. Mother was – spiritually speaking – stronger than iron, and yet she couldn’t stand or feed herself during the last few years of her life. Or if she couldn’t walk or drive or see (she has macular degeneration) or worse.īut Arroyo illustrates, through Mother Angelica’s example, the spiritual power that one can have, particularly because of her physical weakness: ![]() Extremely independent, she would consider it the worst of all fates if her children or a caregiver had to care for her in her later years. Well, my mother has the attitude that she would not want to live if she couldn’t take care of herself (not an uncommon sentiment these days). And – I’m willing to bet – neither do you. Of course, I don’t want to suffer either. Of course, there has been a recurring theme throughout our conversations, and she wouldn’t mind if I shared it with you: ![]() But we have been talking a little more about end-of-life- stuff. Mother Angelica’s personal story will resonate with another mother very close to my heart. The words do not merely relay church teaching, but rather provide an intimate recording of the profound and powerful nature of sacrifice made in the August of life. Mother’s story is compelling in its simplicity. Particularly for those who do not “get” the concept of redemptive suffering, this book illustrates the beauty and value of suffering and sacrifice in Mother Angelica’s straightforward and no frills way. On the eve of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (that would be last night), I finished reading Raymond Arroyo’s Mother Angelica:Her Grand Silence, his final chapter on the last years of Mother Angelica‘s amazing life. I could have read no better book as a “novena” of sorts leading up to the day of one of my favorite feasts. ![]()
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