Mother Angelica

Mother Angelica's story is a testament to God's love and omnipotence. Born Rita Antoinette Rizzo on April 20, 1923, her childhood was marred by poverty, unhappiness, abuse, and painful physical ailments. The young Rita Rizzo overcame many adversities and experienced spiritual conversion in early adulthood. Her sheer will and determination is proof of her unwavering faithfulness in our Lord Jesus. On August 14, 1944, the future Mother Angelica entered religious life as a nun, and later established Our Lady of the Angels Monastery on May 20, 1962. Among her many accomplishments, perhaps the founding of Eternal Word Television Network, EWTN, was one of the greatest. Now in its 27th year, EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world bringing the gospel to more than 85 million households in 110 countries through worldwide short-wave radio station, direct broadcast satellite service, satellite delivered radio network, and Internet site, http://www.ewtn.com/.

I tune in to EWTN Catholic radio or television programming every chance I can. Call it spiritual food -- a constant source of hope and inspiration. The other day, I happened to catch the remainder of "Mother Angelica Live Classics" where she shared her views on faith. A listener had called the show asking for spiritual guidance because certain events in his life caused him to turn away from Christianity. He had simply lost his faith. Her response to this caller inspired me to share her words on my blog. In Mother Angelica's words:

"Faith is at its best in darkness. Faith is most pure when I exercise it in darkness. Faith is that vehicle through which I go straight to God. It allows me to see him in every incident and every occasion, and every moment of my life. It allows me to see beyond the curtain that is between myself and Him in this present moment. It allows me to see Jesus in my neighbor. It allows me to take the risks I need to take to spread the Good News. It allows me to forgive my enemy. It allows me to keep going when all seems lost. It allows me to say "I love you" when I feel no love at all. Faith is more than an intellectual ascent to truth. That total abandon and dedication to God as Father as Lord, as Redeemer, as Sanctifier."