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Saint of the Day – January 30 – Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska’

Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska’s Story (May 16, 1825 – October 10, 1899)

Today we honor a woman who submitted to God’s will throughout her life—a life filled with pain and suffering.

Born in 1825 in central Poland and baptized Sophia, she contracted tuberculosis as a young girl. The forced period of convalescence gave her ample time for reflection. Sophia felt called to serve God by working with the poor, including street children and the elderly homeless in Warsaw’s slums. In time, her cousin joined her in the work.

In 1855, the two women made private vows and consecrated themselves to the Blessed Mother. New followers joined them. Within two years, they formed a new congregation, which came to be known as the Felician Sisters. As their numbers grew, so did their work, and so did the pressures on Mother Angela (the new name Sophia took in religious life).

Mother Angela served as superior for many years until ill health forced her to resign at the age of 44. She watched the order grow and expand, including missions to the United States among the sons and daughters of Polish immigrants.

Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Angela in 1993. Her liturgical feast is celebrated on October 10.

Reflection

Like Saints Francis of Assisi and Ignatius of Loyola, Blessed Mary Angela experienced a conversion while convalescing from an illness. The Lord can use sickness as well as other situations to speak to the heart of an individual. This does not imply that God caused the illness; just that he used the opportunity to speak to Mother Angela’s heart.

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The Catechism in a Year – Day 30 – God Is Who Is

God is truth, God is love, and God is being itself. Today’s Catechism readings begin to unpack the eternal nature of God and share with us God’s “innermost secret.” Fr. Mike teaches us that because God made us in his image and likeness, then we too are called to embody truth and love. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 212-221.

Click on the link to play video: https://youtu.be/JhGFGvPnJqA

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Minute Meditation – Freedom in God

A good spirituality achieves two huge things simultaneously: It keeps God absolutely free, not bound by any of our formulas, and it keeps us utterly free ourselves and not forced or constrained by any circumstances whatsoever, even human laws, sin, limitations, failure, or tragedy. “It was for freedom that Christ has set us free!” as Paul writes (Galatians 5:1). Good religion keeps God free for people and keeps people free for God. We cannot improve on that.

—from the book Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps by Richard Rohr

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Minute Meditation – Living in the Present

Much derails us. Noise, distraction, an inability to say no, an inability to have boundaries for a healthy self. Our internal worrier will continue to pester us: “What’s the secret? How do we actually practice it?” But that is the enigma, isn’t it? Life turns left and does somersaults when we least expect it. So, we juggle and we multitask. And we want someone to give us the answers. We want someone to balance it all or give us the list. Living in the present, fully alive and wholehearted, is not a technique. There is no list. And chances are, we pass by life—the exquisite, the messy, the enchanting, the untidy, the inexplicable—on our way to someplace we think we ought to be. When life throws us a curve that makes our present moment loom larger than anything else, we learn to shift our focus. There is meaning—consequence, value, import—only when what we believe or teach touches this moment. In other words, it’s the small (and specific) stuff that really does matter. Belief is all well and good, but there has to be skin on it—something we touch, see, hear, taste, and smell. The ordinary really is the hiding place for the holy.

To stand still is to practice Sabbath—meaning literally, to rest. To stop. To savor uncluttered time. To be gentle with yourself. And yes, to waste time with God. The bottom line? I’m no longer chasing what I assume will fill empty spaces in order to make me something I am not. Replenishment begins here: “I am enough.” In our Western mindset, living in the present becomes a staged event—staged to be “spiritual,” as if this is something we must orchestrate or arrange. No wonder we sit stewing in the juices of our self-consciousness (“Am I present? What am I doing right or wrong?”), all the while missing the point.

—from the book Stand Still: Finding Balance When the World Turns Upside Down,
by Terry Hershey, page ix

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Minute Meditation – Nothing Small about Compassion

There is nothing small about compassion. There is nothing small about making a difference in the life of one human being. But sometimes, we need an experience that rocks our world. Or, to invite us to hit the reset button. You know, back to what makes us human. To say yes to whatever connects us, as humans, as children of God, as people who need compassion and mercy for sustenance, as people who cannot walk this journey alone. And to say no to whatever divides or demeans or belittles or degrades or incites hate and exclusion. And I must speak that yes, and speak that no, not only with my voice, but with my hands and my feet. Lord hear my prayer. When the world feels small and dark and frightful, it is not surprising we choose to protect our hearts. We do not easily give them away.

This happens when we live from the notion that we carry only so much emotional capital—you know, that precious commodity which allows us to pay attention, to focus, to contribute, to care, to forgive, to set free. So, it goes without saying that conservation is called for. And it becomes our default. “There is no need to spend empathy on just anybody,” we think. “We need to pick and choose.” Or more bluntly, “There are those who deserve care, and those who don’t.” Lord, help us. We lose track of the values that sustain us. There is nothing small about compassion. It is the thread of life woven through each day. As humans—in the image of God—we touch, love, give, receive, and redeem. It’s time to rethink our notion about the scarcity of compassion. This is an affirmation of what is already alive and well within each of us. We have the capacity to be places of shelter and hope and inclusion and healing.

—from the book Stand Still: Finding Balance When the World Turns Upside Down,
by Terry Hershey, page 53

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The Catechism in a Year – Day 29 – Knowing the Name of God

We can learn a lot about the nature of God from his Divine Name revealed in Scripture. When God said to Moses, “I am who I am,” this was a revelation of a name as well as a refusal of a name. Fr. Mike explains how this mystery reveals truths about God: he is infinitely above all things; we cannot comprehend him, yet he draws close to us. This Divine Name expresses the steadfast, faithful, unchanging love of God for his people, even when we betray and abandon him. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 205-211.

Click on the link to play video: https://youtu.be/TBB6IMNXJlo

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Minute Meditation – Gentle Hands that Hold Us

To be replenished is to be reminded of what is true, of the values that tether us. This is not just someone saying, “You’ll be OK.” To be replenished is to know, at our core, that we are home and we are safe. Now we have something to draw on. Which means we have something to give. This sanctuary is not just for solace, but also indispensable as a deterrent. In other words, we build immunity: to not be as easily susceptible to fear, or at the mercy of every threat. We can do this because there are two gentle hands of grace that hold us, no matter what. Let us honor that capacity (inner core), fueled by sufficiency and not scarcity. We need to honor our capacity for mindfulness. To embrace now and the sacrament of the present moment.

—from the book Stand Still: Finding Balance When the World Turns Upside Down,
by Terry Hershey, page 32