Foundress of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration
and the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN)
b. 20 April 1923 - d. 27 March 2016
Mother Angelica died on Easter Sunday. Her work on Earth will have a ripple effect for Jesus for generations to come. Here is a moving article by Father Joseph Wolfe, who was with her at the last:
Mother Angelica's Last Days
Another excellent commentary and lesson for us all comes from Jeff Cavins, a Catholic convert and founder of The Great Adventure Bible Study.
"I learned from Mother that all the glory goes to Jesus. She told me one time that if anyone says anything good about you or praises you, point them to Jesus right away. I saw her do this time after time and I have tried to imitate her in this practice.
"A lesson we can all learn from Mother [Angelica] is that God can do amazing things with the five loaves and two fish that we have. She didn’t have much when it comes to TV experience, but what she had, she gave to Jesus and He did amazing things with it. Every time I hear the story of the feeding of the five thousand, I think of Mother Angelica and the five loaves and two fish that she gave Jesus. If you have been blessed by EWTN, then you have benefited from her gift to the Lord." (Jeff Cavins)
I think that's going to be my goal from now on. To see myself as the child who trustingly handed over to Jesus his simple lunch of five loaves and two fish. Because remember, He made us. God made us. Jesus. God. He made us to know, love, and serve Him in this world and be happy with Him forever in Heaven.
He also made our five loaves and the two fish. Everything we have and everything we are was made by Him, comes from Him, is through Him, by His grace.
Thanks to Jeff Cavins' remarks, thanks to Mother Angelica's life, I'm going (to try!) to remember more often in the future to hand everything I have, am, do, or am struggling with over to Jesus.
Not with reservations ("Um, but Jesus, is that going to be enough to feed everyone?").
Not with stipulations ("Um, but Jesus, are you sure you know how to gut 'n cook fish just right?").
Not with instructions ("Um, but Jesus, why don't we just send James and John over to the market for some more sandwiches?")
Not with questions ("Um, but Jesus, are you sure you want all these people to sit down and stay? Here? With us? Expecting to be fed!?")
Nike had the right idea.
Just Do It.
Stop telling the Lord how to manage your things or how your life oughta be and just let Him drive your life. He even says so explicitly in the Bible:
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life .... Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life-span? .... If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? .... Instead, seek His kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides." (from Luke 12:22-31)
(....really, just go and read ALL of Luke Chapter 12. Would you believe that chapter just randomly leapt out at me during my Bible reading in Adoration today!? No, seriously! Really! It did! Isn't that great!?)
Mother Angelica's life, above all, was dedicated to the fervent belief that God made YOU and wants YOU -- every, single, one of you! -- to know, love, and serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven.
Just ask her! She's already there. And as she spent her life, now she's pullin' for YOU from Heaven, too. "Rest In Peace" is real nice 'n all, but let's keep Mother Angelica busy with our petitions. I think she'd be rather glad to hear them. And immediately point us to Jesus!
Vive Jesu!
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