1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,720 Speaker 1: Mother Angelica is one of the most well known religious 2 00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: figures in the world. And though you may know her 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,560 Speaker 1: homespun spiritual wisdom from decades on television, do you know 4 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: of her final lesson the last fifteen years she's spent 5 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 1: suffering with God in a corner room of her monastery. 6 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: It's a story of redemption beyond pain, the passion of 7 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:34,560 Speaker 1: Mother Angelica. You have to hear this on this Arroyo Grande. 8 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to the show. Everyone, go subscribe to a Royal Grande. 9 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,840 Speaker 1: Now turn those notifications on so you know what's coming. 10 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: And if you'd like to support the show, visit Raymond 11 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: Arroyo dot com. You can click to donate your tax 12 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: free contributions keep the show coming. Now. Everybody knows Mother 13 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: Mary Angelica, the media trailblazer and cloistered nun who is 14 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: the first woman in the history of television to found 15 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: it and lead her own cable network. For twenty years, 16 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: I've spoken of her remarkable journey and maybe we'll do 17 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:08,680 Speaker 1: a show on her vision and her spunk. But Mother 18 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:13,959 Speaker 1: Angelica died on Easter Sunday, March twenty seventh. In twenty sixteen, 19 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: I wrote about her last years In the sequel to 20 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:21,040 Speaker 1: her biography, I titled it Mother Angelica, Her Grand Silence, 21 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: the Last Year's and Living Legacy. And during those last 22 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: fifteen years of her life, when I walked into her 23 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: room at our Lady of the Angel's Monastery to visit her, 24 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: it was not uncommon to find Mother Angelica in what 25 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: I would call a food fight. I would usually go 26 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: in during lunch or dinner, because I knew she'd beat 27 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 1: awake and peppy, and hey, if you want to find 28 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: an Italian in a good mood, you go to them 29 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: when they're eating. And on most occasions, Sister Mary Gabriel, 30 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: the diminuon of nun who cared for Mother until the 31 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: very end, she'd be standing over Mother Angelica with a 32 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: spoon in hand, and I'd joke upon entering, is she 33 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: trying to force feed your again? Mother? And Mother Angelica 34 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: would laugh and give me a wink. Then the food 35 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:08,239 Speaker 1: fight resumed. Each time Sister would move the spoon close 36 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: to Mother's mouth, she'd duck, or she'd shift, or she'd 37 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: get down, or she'd lean up. She'd be locking and popping, 38 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: and she'd look at me, you know, hah, you know, 39 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: kind of laugh and wink throughout the whole thing. The 40 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: spoon would come in and Mother would pull the sheet 41 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: up over her mouth. Sister Gabriel would protest and beg 42 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 1: her to eat, but there would come that moment when 43 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: she had had enough. Mother would purse her lips, slowly 44 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:37,639 Speaker 1: shake her head side to side, and the accurate translation 45 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: for that was lunch is over, sweethet. Now, some of 46 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: the sisters used to say that Mother would perform for me. 47 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,239 Speaker 1: She'd sort of rouse herself to be the mother Angelica 48 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: of old, even though she probably felt like the Rita 49 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: Rizzo of the present. That was her birth name, Rita Rizzo. 50 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: Those last years were hard for Reverend Mother, but I 51 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,639 Speaker 1: would argue that they may have constituted the most important 52 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:09,119 Speaker 1: time in her life. I want to consider Mother Angelica's 53 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 1: last year's and legacy. Legacies are hard things because they're 54 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: movable and changing. They're dependent on others. A life is 55 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:22,080 Speaker 1: more fixed. So let's start there. Pain in an odd 56 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: way led Rita Rizzo, a young girl who grew up 57 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: in Canton, Ohio. Down the paths God would have her 58 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: travel stomach problems and swollen knees as a nun. Shattered 59 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: vertebra in her back asthma. These unwelcome surprises, these sufferings, 60 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: became signs and heralds of the life Mother Angelica was 61 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: meant to live. They redirected her story that would really 62 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: be hers alone. And two things stand out from her 63 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: early life. She was radically dependent on God's divine providence. 64 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: That's the trust that God does indeed care for everything. 65 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 1: He's guiding you at every moment. And she knew how 66 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: to offer suffering up to God like no one I've 67 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: ever encountered. This combination of talents, if you will, would 68 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: take her to incredible places. After building her network, the 69 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 1: last stage of her life really began in two thousand 70 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: and one. On Christmas Eve of that year, Mother went 71 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: to prey in her chapel and she had a major stroke. 72 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: It greatly limited her speech and certainly hampered her mobility. 73 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 1: She was now largely confined to the corner room of 74 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: Our Lady of the Angels monastery in Hansville, Alabama. She 75 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: would remain in that room exclusively for the better part 76 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:48,159 Speaker 1: of thirteen years. Most thought her story was over. Let 77 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: me tell you they were wrong. Mother and I remained 78 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: close to the end of her days, and it was 79 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: one of the great privileges of my life to not 80 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:59,359 Speaker 1: only write about her work with her, but know her well, 81 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: a friend, almost a grandmother, even when many didn't see 82 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 1: her any longer. I loved watching her little games in 83 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 1: the cell. She would play possum. You have to think 84 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: about it. When you're very ill and you can't leave 85 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: your bed. Okay, you're confined to a room. There's no 86 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: way to escape, so you can't get up, you can't 87 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: call for somebody to help you. How do you deal 88 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 1: with unwelcome visitors? Well I figured it out pretty quickly. 89 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: I was going in one day and there was a 90 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: I won't say who it was, but a person standing 91 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: over the bed trying to interact with her, and mother 92 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:38,040 Speaker 1: was sleeping and just she wouldn't move, She didn't respond 93 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,080 Speaker 1: at all, and the person said, look, you're not going 94 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 1: to get much. She's been sleeping like this for the 95 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 1: better part of forty five minutes. So this fellow left, 96 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:50,320 Speaker 1: and the moment the door closed, her eyes popped open. 97 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: She looked at me. She started laughing. She was playing possum. 98 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:56,479 Speaker 1: That's the only way she could get away from unwelcome visitors. 99 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 1: So I'm glad she didn't try that with me, don't know, 100 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: And I think it applies to the days we're living 101 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: through now. Is that Mother Angelica, after her stroke, traveled 102 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:12,040 Speaker 1: to Japan to found another monastery. I revealed this in 103 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 1: her Grand silence. In December of two thousand and four, 104 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:21,360 Speaker 1: she traveled to Fukuoka to visit a monastery there where 105 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: she considered sending some of her forty nuns now. As 106 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: part of her therapy of following her stroke, a therapist 107 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,280 Speaker 1: had taught Mother Angelica to sing words that she wished 108 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: to communicate as a way of overcompensating or overcoming rather 109 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: the ephasia that stifled her speech. So they were wheeling 110 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: her down the whole of this monastery, and it's pretty dilapidated, 111 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: and Mother started to sing out to the tune of 112 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: let its know, tear it down, tear it down, tear 113 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 1: it down. Well, they ended up not building a monastery there. 114 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 1: She later visited the bishop of Nagasaki to try to 115 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: establish a monastery in that city. That also didn't work. 116 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: But I believe the whole reason that her nuns were 117 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 1: inspired to plant a new monastery in Japan was really 118 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: so Mother Angelica could make a particular visit. Shortly before 119 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: her departure, she stopped that the shrine of our Lady 120 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,240 Speaker 1: of Akita. Now, I didn't know much about Our Lady 121 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: of Akita until one of the nuns told me they 122 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 1: visited there. In July of nineteen seventy three, a nun, 123 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 1: Sister Agnes, believed she heard a voice emanating from a 124 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:35,880 Speaker 1: wooden statue of the Virgin Mary in the chapel. It 125 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: spoke of the need to pray for the reparation of 126 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: mankind sins so as to avoid grave calamities, a chastisement, 127 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: and quote a punishment greater than the deluge. That same day, 128 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: the nuns noticed that the right hand of the Marian 129 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 1: statue was dripping blood. Sister Agnes heard the Virgin tell 130 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: her many men in this world afflict the Lord. I 131 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: desire souls to console him, to soften the anger of 132 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: the heavenly Father. I wish with my son for souls 133 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: who will repair by their suffering and their poverty, for 134 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 1: the sinners and ingrates. End quote. The last message of 135 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: Akda is perhaps the most startling to me anyway, because 136 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: it's like reading a newspaper rather than a prophecy. This 137 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 1: is what it says. The work of the devil will 138 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:34,080 Speaker 1: infiltrate the church. The demon will be especially implacable against 139 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of 140 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: so many souls is the cause of my sadness, no wonder. 141 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:47,560 Speaker 1: The statue wept on one hundred and one separate occasions. 142 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:51,679 Speaker 1: Not long before her stroke in late two thousand and one, 143 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: Mother Angelica and I were speaking about bishops who didn't 144 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,680 Speaker 1: care for her, and she said, they don't pay me 145 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: any attention and for me to die, but I won't. 146 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 1: Then she exhaled and she got really quiet, as she 147 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: often did, and she said, I talked to the Lord recently, Raymond, 148 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 1: and I told him I'd like to stay until the 149 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:20,679 Speaker 1: worst is over for the church and for the community. Well, 150 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:26,359 Speaker 1: her Lord accepted her proposal. Her mission continued for fifteen 151 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: more years. Now what was that mission? I would argue 152 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: that her first mission was to pray for souls, to 153 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:37,400 Speaker 1: intercede for humanity, to bring hope to those who had none, 154 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: and to do so as a contemplative none. And during 155 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: this grand silence, she returned to that first vow. Remember, 156 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:49,080 Speaker 1: Mother was not a TV personality. She was a contemplative 157 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: of nun who did TV as a sideline, and after 158 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:55,679 Speaker 1: twenty years of being allowed out here with the world 159 00:09:55,800 --> 00:10:00,440 Speaker 1: with us, God recalled her fully to her contemplati life, 160 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 1: to the quietude, to the silence of her monastery, and 161 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 1: in those last years she had a strong awareness of 162 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:12,079 Speaker 1: her mission. One day, one of her nun's sister, Mary Peter, 163 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,280 Speaker 1: offered to take Mother out of her cell to get 164 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:18,760 Speaker 1: some air, and she refused. She put her hand on 165 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:21,920 Speaker 1: the door jam. She said, no, this is where I'm 166 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: supposed to be in this room. She was a full contemplative, 167 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: full time again, and she knew it. This would be 168 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:35,720 Speaker 1: the place God, in his providence had set aside for 169 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 1: her to struggle for her soul and for the souls 170 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: of millions she would never meet. She'd be restricted to 171 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:46,200 Speaker 1: herself for the next fifteen years. This would be the 172 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:53,640 Speaker 1: arena for demonic attacks, intense prayer, and a psychological suffering 173 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:56,600 Speaker 1: that I think few can imagine. If you want to 174 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 1: know why e WTN her network stayed on the air 175 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:03,680 Speaker 1: and grew during this period, why people were drawn to faith, 176 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: why her community survived her absence, one need look no 177 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: further than the woman fitfully laying in the corner bed 178 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:15,560 Speaker 1: in the cell at Our Lady the Angel's Monastery, I 179 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: want to tell you about ave Maria Mutual Funds. 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Ave Maria Mutual 198 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 1: Funds are distributed by Ultimus Funds Distributors, LLC. Though vastly altered, 199 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:49,880 Speaker 1: her work continued. She wrote, our suffering only has meaning 200 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 1: if we unite it in love to the suffering of Christ. 201 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: And she did that in those last tortured years. Perhaps 202 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:03,679 Speaker 1: the most difficult suffering she endured was psychological. Imagine this driven, 203 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 1: strong willed, powerful woman, perhaps the greatest voice of Catholicism 204 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 1: after the Pope himself. Reduced to a few words, She 205 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: told her nuns once, you don't know how high it 206 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 1: is not to be able to communicate. And after she 207 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:23,240 Speaker 1: said that, she could say nothing else. Mother was suddenly 208 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 1: unable to control when she rose or slept, ate or moved, 209 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:32,800 Speaker 1: who came in, who left. This was hard on her. 210 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 1: I wrote that at times when you walked into the cell, 211 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,880 Speaker 1: it would resemble a nun's martial arts demonstration. She would 212 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:42,959 Speaker 1: be all elbows and knees, you know, literally battling the sisters. 213 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,080 Speaker 1: Now this was early on, as they were trying to 214 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,719 Speaker 1: care for her or you know, change the bed. She 215 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 1: was fighting it, but eventually she even abandoned her great 216 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:58,720 Speaker 1: will to God. She realized they were doing what was 217 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:02,920 Speaker 1: best for her and her thing affection became obvious, and 218 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 1: over those years she really she turned into and became 219 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 1: very much like the child Jesus. She so loved, docile, gentle, yielding, 220 00:14:15,679 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: and yeah, radiant. She offered that suffering to God and 221 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 1: in her words, became a healer because she had not 222 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: been healed now personally, she gave me so much her attention, 223 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,560 Speaker 1: her affection, her love, a brilliant subject to write about, 224 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 1: and at times her correction. Yeah, she would chastise me 225 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 1: in front of God and anybody else who was standing 226 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 1: in the hallway. One time she saw that I was 227 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 1: stung by something she'd said, and she walked over to 228 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: me and she put an arm around me, and she said, 229 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:50,560 Speaker 1: I love you like a brother, and I love you 230 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 1: like a mother. I'm just doing what mothers do. At 231 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 1: times she treated me like I was one of her novices. 232 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: It is because she cared. I mean, among the many 233 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 1: things mother taught me was how to have a good 234 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 1: time on and off camera, and being in the public 235 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: eye is not for the week. I remember once and 236 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,040 Speaker 1: this gives you insight into her humor and her suffering. 237 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,480 Speaker 1: She told me being in Philadelphia, she was in the 238 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:22,400 Speaker 1: cathedral there and she was in attendance. Some of her 239 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 1: brothers were being ordained priests, and she'd already founded e 240 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: wtnwten is like fifteen years old at this point, her 241 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:35,120 Speaker 1: national international network. And she's sitting in the audience and 242 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:38,520 Speaker 1: from the pulpit, the Cardinal of Philadelphia says, what we 243 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 1: need is a Catholic media outlet. We need to take 244 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,200 Speaker 1: the church into the heart of the media on television. 245 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:46,320 Speaker 1: We pray for the day when we'll be able to 246 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:50,520 Speaker 1: see a national outlet of faith. Some mother tells me, 247 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: can you imagine this. I'm sitting right there with the 248 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:58,600 Speaker 1: Lord's blessing. We already built this mysterious television network he's 249 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 1: talking about. He's been on my show. So I'm sitting 250 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: there listening to this, and the human part of me 251 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,360 Speaker 1: wants to stand up and say, hey, buddy, move on 252 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 1: to something else. We got this covered. We already did it. 253 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 1: But then you think, Lord, you must run to humble me. 254 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:19,640 Speaker 1: So I'll just sit here and listen to this guy 255 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 1: fantasized while I give thanks for what you've let us accomplish. 256 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 1: Sometimes it can turn a moment of humiliation into something holy, 257 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: and other times you just want to ugh. That's one 258 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 1: of the things I miss most. Mother Angelica remained in 259 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 1: that corner room of her monastery until Easter Sunday of 260 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 1: twenty sixteen, when her Lord called her home. Interestingly, Mother 261 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:50,040 Speaker 1: Angelica had instructed her nuns to do everything they could 262 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:52,120 Speaker 1: to keep her alive, no matter how much she suffered, 263 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: because every day she suffered, she said, she suffered for God, 264 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 1: and the timing is at all on me. She went 265 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:05,880 Speaker 1: into her final passion on Good Friday. Father Joseph Wolf, 266 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:09,679 Speaker 1: who is the Network chaplain, said that Mother began to 267 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 1: cry out early in the morning from the pain that 268 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 1: she was having. She had a fracture in her bones 269 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:17,159 Speaker 1: because of the length of time she had been bedridden. 270 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:19,680 Speaker 1: They said you could hear it all the way down 271 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,680 Speaker 1: the hallways that she was crying out on Good Friday. 272 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:27,960 Speaker 1: These two people, a caregiver and one of her sisters, 273 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: said to me, she has excruciating pain. She continued to 274 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:38,719 Speaker 1: suffer more peacefully until Easter Sunday, and her sisters prayed 275 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: the Divine Office around her, you know, the daily prayer 276 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:43,679 Speaker 1: of the church. She was given last writes and a 277 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:47,080 Speaker 1: Mass was said in her room, and then she finally 278 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:49,359 Speaker 1: went home to the one she served all of her 279 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:54,359 Speaker 1: adult life at five pm. She was ninety two years old. 280 00:17:55,960 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 1: Mother's final lesson her passion for all those years reminds 281 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:03,800 Speaker 1: me that we all have a role to play in 282 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:07,479 Speaker 1: this grand design of God. I feel honored to have 283 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:11,359 Speaker 1: known her and shared her story with so many. You know, 284 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:14,400 Speaker 1: in the musical Hamilton, at the end of the show, 285 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 1: there's a song and about halfway through I always tear 286 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 1: up when I hear it, not because of Hamilton, but 287 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:24,480 Speaker 1: because the song asks who lives, who dies? Who tells 288 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 1: your story? And I always think when I hear it, 289 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,400 Speaker 1: I did, Reverend Mother. I got to tell that story, 290 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: and boy am I grateful. I have so much more 291 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: that I could say about those last years. And we 292 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:44,119 Speaker 1: took a trip to Lords. She wanted to be healed. 293 00:18:44,119 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: She was looking for healing from the stroke from the wheelchair. 294 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: She wanted to return to the evangelical mission, to go 295 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 1: back to the airwaves again. She wanted to reach her people, 296 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,359 Speaker 1: and we took this trip to Lords of one of 297 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 1: her supporters arranged a t so she and some nuns, 298 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:06,359 Speaker 1: one of her vice presidents and myself went down to 299 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:09,000 Speaker 1: Lords and she got she'd went to the you know, 300 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:14,200 Speaker 1: the site where Bernadette saw our Lady of Lords. There 301 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:18,680 Speaker 1: was a spring that sprang up, and a belief that 302 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:21,920 Speaker 1: the waters have miraculous powers. And indeed many have gone 303 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,920 Speaker 1: into those baths at Lords and been healed. So Mother 304 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 1: Angelica wanted that, and she went into the baths and 305 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:32,200 Speaker 1: she came out and we pushed her in the wheelchair 306 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:34,000 Speaker 1: and there was a big prayer service at night. It 307 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:38,120 Speaker 1: was beautiful, and she saw all these people around her, 308 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:45,520 Speaker 1: suffering little children who were their limbs were stunted or misshapen, 309 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,320 Speaker 1: and the parents, you know, had the dark circles around 310 00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:51,360 Speaker 1: their eyes from you could tell they hadn't slept in years, 311 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:55,520 Speaker 1: all begging for the same miracle. And Mother, as we 312 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: went by, as I was pushing on the wheelchair, she 313 00:19:57,320 --> 00:19:59,199 Speaker 1: would bless them where she would put her hand on them, 314 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 1: and they were bringinging them to her to pray over 315 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:05,960 Speaker 1: and to pray for. And she was praying for all 316 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 1: these people. And that night we went to dinner and 317 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,959 Speaker 1: a couple brought their child over to the dinner table, 318 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,520 Speaker 1: and she held the baby in her arms, and she 319 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 1: was very upset before that dinner because she was not healed. 320 00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:24,399 Speaker 1: And as she was sitting there holding this baby and 321 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,320 Speaker 1: praying for the child, you could see a light return 322 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: to her eyes, and she handed the baby back to 323 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:34,239 Speaker 1: them and assured this Italian couple of her prayers. And 324 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 1: it brought back that line that I mentioned to you earlier. 325 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:42,679 Speaker 1: She was a healer because she hadn't been healed, and 326 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:46,320 Speaker 1: I think that reality fell upon her in that moment, 327 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,160 Speaker 1: and she spent the rest of her days praying and interceding, 328 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:55,280 Speaker 1: begging God for all those who were suffering far worse 329 00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:58,920 Speaker 1: than she was. Perhaps it was a moment of clarity, 330 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:02,520 Speaker 1: and it taught me a lot. Sometimes you don't get 331 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: the healing you want, but you get the healing you're 332 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 1: supposed to get, and I do think that's what mother 333 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:11,240 Speaker 1: Angelica got. And it was beautiful watching or spending those 334 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:18,040 Speaker 1: last days hard. It was hard because you could see 335 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:20,600 Speaker 1: she wanted to speak at times and she just couldn't 336 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:23,920 Speaker 1: get the words out. And then there were other times 337 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:26,359 Speaker 1: where it would come out like a torrent and she'd 338 00:21:26,359 --> 00:21:29,720 Speaker 1: give you four clear sentences telling you exactly what she 339 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 1: wanted to say, and she'd laugh, and then she couldn't 340 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,640 Speaker 1: say anymore. There's so much more I could talk about 341 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,240 Speaker 1: and tell you about, but perhaps you can read about 342 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:40,919 Speaker 1: it later, or we can talk about it later. But 343 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 1: the final part of the legacy of Mother Angelica is 344 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 1: really those she touched. They are the unfinished piece of 345 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: Mother Angelica's legacy. There's a line that mother liked to 346 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:56,200 Speaker 1: quote to her sisters during lessons, and it comes from 347 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:58,600 Speaker 1: a letter of Saint Francis of Assisi. He wrote this 348 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:03,240 Speaker 1: to his community in twelve twenty five, and it applies 349 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: to Mother's life in perhaps ours as well. Francis writes, 350 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:11,960 Speaker 1: humble yourselves that you may be exalted by him. Hold 351 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:16,160 Speaker 1: back nothing of yourselves for yourselves, that he who gives 352 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:23,359 Speaker 1: himself totally to you may receive you totally. You were 353 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:27,600 Speaker 1: created for a purpose, Commit yourself to it totally. That's 354 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 1: what Mother Angelica did, and she gave everything she had 355 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: to the bitter end. She once wrote, all the trials, sufferings, heartaches, 356 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:40,160 Speaker 1: and disappointment will seem as nothing compared to the glory. 357 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:45,239 Speaker 1: Your sufferings merited for me. With you, Dear Jesus, I 358 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:48,720 Speaker 1: will roam freely in the love of the Spirit, forever 359 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:55,399 Speaker 1: and ever. Mother's spirit is finally free. Even now, she 360 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:59,440 Speaker 1: continues to make spiritual children of strangers and draw new 361 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:03,520 Speaker 1: souls to tie her Lord. Somewhere in a darkened hotel room, 362 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: a suburban den, a hospital, or a dorm, her light 363 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: shine still. Those in desperate straits, those confused or abandoned 364 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:19,560 Speaker 1: by life, have found Mother Angelica, and inexplicably, beyond time 365 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:23,120 Speaker 1: and space, she has found them and holds them near 366 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:29,159 Speaker 1: in the present moment. Rest in peace, Mama. I miss you. 367 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:32,679 Speaker 1: God rest your soul, and I'm so glad that you 368 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:36,720 Speaker 1: spent a little time with us. I hope Mother's example 369 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:38,720 Speaker 1: will give you a little light to lead you in 370 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,200 Speaker 1: the days ahead. I know it's still lent, but we're 371 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,720 Speaker 1: moving toward Easter. And if you'd like to know more 372 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:46,920 Speaker 1: about Mother Angelica, pick up a copy of my biography, 373 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:50,440 Speaker 1: Mother Angelica, The Remarkable Story of a Nun, her Nerve 374 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:53,439 Speaker 1: and the Network of Miracles, or the sequel which I 375 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:58,120 Speaker 1: reference today. Mother Angelica, her Grand Silence and the audio 376 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: books are a fun way to encounter The books I 377 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:04,320 Speaker 1: do all the voices and add a few extra passages 378 00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:06,720 Speaker 1: here and there for context. I hope you'll come back 379 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:09,359 Speaker 1: to a Royal Grande soon. Why settle for a dry, 380 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,199 Speaker 1: constricted life when if you fill it with wisdom and knowledge, 381 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,679 Speaker 1: it can flow into a broad, thriving a Royal Grande. 382 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: I'm raiming at a Royo. Make sure you subscribe like this episode. 383 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,520 Speaker 1: Thank you for diving in, and we'll see you next time. 384 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:26,000 Speaker 1: A Royal Grande is produced in partnership with DPS Studios 385 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:29,600 Speaker 1: and iHeart Podcasts, and is available on the iHeartRadio app 386 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:36,520 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts