Happy Feast of St. Angela!! (a little early)

We would like to share with you some words of Sr. Maryellen Keefe, OSU, PhD on Angela.

Empowered by such light, Angela expects that like her, we, her followers, will intercede for others before God and speak such words as lead to concord, charity, and the speaking of peace wherever we are; that we will act out of love and with patience, thereby crushing the head of the devil (Writings 83). She prescribed no one activity - no one service or apostolate-but directed her followers to decide on their particular ministries according to time, place, circumstances-and each one's particular gifts and talents.

Her form of consecrated life is ainstitutional: without convent, solemn vows, or habit; without common life, or perfect execution of precepts; with a government not based on power but organized on an "alternative logic"- Mazzonis' phase (p. 125)- of caring, serving, guiding, and protecting. From the Holy Spirit, she learned and enacted respect for each individual, no matter how diverse. Insisting on the importance of love and convinced that women could be responsible leaders, she knew that following her Rule-her way of life-would lead to experiencing Christ's presence in their midst. What greater joy!!

Querciolo Mazzonis, Spirituality, Gender, and the Self in Renaissance Italy. Angela Merici and the Company of St. Ursula (1474-1540), The Catholic University of America Press, Washington D.C., 2007