Saint Angela Merici, Virgin
Saint Angela Merici, Virgin
Optional Memorial
January 27th
traditional holy card
St. Angela (1470-1540) was born in northern Italy. In 1535, she founded the Order of Ursulines, the first women's teaching order approved by the Church. Italy then was rife with violence and immorality. St. Angela believed that the formation of Christian women is society's greatest need.
Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003
Collect:
May the Virgin Saint Angela never fail to commend us
to your compassion, O Lord, we pray,
that, following the lessons of her charity and prudence,
we may hold fast to your teaching
and express it in what we do.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading: 1 Peter 4:7b-11
Keep sane and sober for your prayers. Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading: Mark 9:34b-37
On the way [to Capernaum] they [the disciples] had discussed with one another who was the greatest. And He [Jesus] sat down and called the twelve; and He said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." And He took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."
31. There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent to him, calling him.
32. And the multitude sat about him, and they said to him, Behold, your mother and your brethren without seek for you.
33. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34. And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
35. For whoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
THEOPHYL. Because the relations of the Lord had come to seize upon Him, as if beside Himself, His mother, urged by the sympathy of her love, came to Him; wherefore it is said, And there came to him his mother, and, standing without, sent to him, calling him.
CHRYS. From this it is manifest that His brethren and His mother were not always with Him; but because He was beloved by them, they come from reverence and affection, waiting without. Wherefore it goes on, And the multitude sat about him, &c.
BEDE; The brothers of the Lord must not be thought to be the sons of the ever-virgin Mary, as Helvidius says, nor the sons of Joseph by a former marriage, as some think, but rather they must be understood to be His relations.
PSEUD-CHRYS. But another Evangelist says, that His brethren did not believe on Him. With which this agrees, which says, that they sought Him, waiting without, and with this meaning the Lord does not mention them as relations. Wherefore it follows, And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother. or my brethren? But He does not here mention His mother and His brethren altogether with reproof, but to show that a man must honor his own soul above all earthly kindred; wherefore this is fitly said to those who called Him to speak with His mother and relations, as if it were a more useful task than the teaching of salvation.
BEDE; Being asked therefore by a message to go out, He declines, not as though He refused the dutiful service of His mother, but to show that He owes more to His Father's mysteries than to His mother's feelings. Nor does He rudely despise His brothers, but, preferring His spiritual work to fleshly relationship, He teaches us that religion is the bond of the heart rather than that of the body. Wherefore it goes on, And looking round about on them which sat about him, he said, Behold my mother and my brethren.
CHRYS. By this, the Lord shows that we should honor those who are relations by faith rather than those who are relations by blood. A man indeed is made the mother of Jesus by preaching Him; for He, as it were, brings forth the Lord, when he pours Him into the heart of his hearers.
PSEUDO-JEROME; But let us be assured that we are His brethren and This sisters, if we do the will of the Father; that we may be joint-heirs with Him, for He discerns us not by sex but by our deeds. Wherefore it goes on: Whoever shall do the will of God, &c.
THEOPHYL. The does not therefore say this, as denying His mother, but as showing that He is worthy of honor, not only because she bore Christ, but on account of her possessing every other virtue.
BEDE; But mystically, the mother and brother of Jesus means the synagogue, (from which according to the flesh He sprung,) and the Jewish people who, while the Savior is teaching within, come to Him, and are not able to enter, because they cannot understand spiritual things. But the crowd eagerly enter, because when the Jews delayed, the Gentiles flocked to Christ; but His kindred, who stand without wishing to see the Lord, are the Jews who obstinately remained without, guarding the letter, and would rather compel the Lord to go forth to them to teach carnal things, than consent to enter in to learn spiritual things of Him. If therefore not even His parents when standing without are acknowledged, how shall we be acknowledged, if we stand without? For the word is within and the light within.
Catena Aurea Mark 3
Information:
St. Angela Merici Feast Day: January 27
Born: 21 March 1474, Desenzano del Garda, Province of Brescia, Lombardy, Italy
Died: 27 January 1540, Brescia, Lombardy, Italy
Canonized: May 24, 1807, Rome by Pope Pius VII
Major Shrine: The Merician Centre (including the now subterranean Church of St Afra, Brescia, Lombardy, Italy)
Patron of: sickness, handicapped people, loss of parents
Interactive Saints for Kids
St. Angela Merici
Feast Day: January 27
Born:1474 :: Died:1540
Angela was born in the small Italian town of Desenzano, Lake Garda, Italy. Her parents died when she was ten. She and her only sister, who was three years older, loved each other very much.
A rich uncle took the girls into his home. While still suffering from the loss of her parents, Angela's sister also died. The older girl died even before a priest could arrive to administer the last sacraments.
Angela worried about her sister's soul but Jesus revealed to her that her sister had been saved. Angela felt peace return to her own soul and thanked the Lord in prayer. She wanted to do something to show her gratitude. So she promised to spend the rest of her life serving Jesus totally.
She joined the Secular Fransiscan Order when she was fifteen and received a vision telling her that by her example she would lead other holy women to God.
In Crete, while on a pilgrimage to Holy Land, she was struck blind. Her friends wanted to return home, but she insisted on going on, visiting the shrines with as much devotion and enthusiasm as if she could see. On the way home, while praying before a crucifix, she got back her sight at the same place where it had been lost.
When she was about twenty-two, Angela began to notice that the children of her town knew little about their religion. Angela invited some of her girlfriends to join her in teaching religion classes. Angela's friends were anxious to help her with the children.
At that time there were no religious orders of teaching sisters. No one had ever thought of such a thing. St. Angela Merici was the first to gather together a group of women to open schools for children.
On November 25, 1535, twenty-eight young women offered their lives to God. It was the beginning of the Ursuline order. Angela placed the congregation under the protection of St. Ursula and this is how they got their name.
The women stayed in their own homes at first. Because of many difficulties, it was a long time before they could live together in a convent. Angela died on January 27, 1540, when her congregation was still in its beginning stages.
Her trust in God had seen her through many hard tests in her lifetime. There was no doubt in her mind that the Lord would take care of the mission she had begun. And so he did.
The Ursuline Sisters have now spread to many countries. The order continues its works for Jesus and his Church, especially in the education of children and young adults.
Catholic Culture
Collect: May the Virgin Saint Angela never fail to commend us to your compassion, O Lord, we pray, that, following the lessons of her charity and prudence, and express it in what we do. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
o Genoise Book Cake
o Overnight Basic Italian
o Pasticcio di Polenta
o Polenta
o Risi e Bisi
o Rose Petal Coconut Cake
o Rose Petal Pound Cake
o Salmon Primavera with Lemon Butter Sauce
o Nameday Celebration Prayers and Ideas for St. Angela Merici
o Practical Suggestions for Christian Living (Holy Orders)
o Litany of St. Angela Merici
o Novena for Purification
· Ordinary Time: January 27th
· Optional Memorial of St. Angela Merici, virgin
Old Calendar: St. John Chrysostom, bishop, confessor and doctor; St. Angela Merici
St. Angela was born in northern Italy. In 1516, she founded the Order of Ursulines, the first teaching order for women approved by the Church.
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. John Chrysostom. St. Angela Merici's feast is celebrated on June 1, except in the convents of her order where it is also celebrated today.
St. Angela Merici
The saint was born in 1474 in the diocese of Verona. Early in life she dedicated herself to Christ as His bride. After the death of her parents, she desired to live solely for God in quiet and solitude, but her uncle insisted that she manage his household. 
She renounced her patrimony in order to observe most perfectly the rule for Franciscan Tertiaries.
During a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1524, she lost her eyesight temporarily. Pope Clement VII, whom she visited in Rome, desired her to remain in the Holy City. Later she founded a society for girls, under the protection of St. Ursula; this was the beginning of the Ursuline Order. St. Angela was almost seventy when she died; her body remained incorrupt for thirty days. Remarkable phenomena occurred at her burial in the Church of St. Afra.
— Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Patron: Bodily ills; disabled people; handicapped people; illness; loss of parents; physically challenged people; sick people; sickness.
Symbols: Cloak; ladder.
Things to Do:
The Word Among Us
Meditation: Hebrews 10:1-10
Saint Angela Merici, Virgin
Behold, I come. (Hebrews 10:7)
Have you ever heard the story about a magical house that appears tiny and plain on the outside, but when you step in, you discover a vast, ornate mansion? They’re popular fare in fantasy novels and movies. Today’s first reading contains a simple three-word phrase that may seem just as tiny and plain on the outside but is filled with countless treasures on the inside.
Behold, I come. If we pause for a moment to explore this little “house” with just a bit of imagination, we’ll discover that these words can go a long way toward summarizing the entire gospel!
Behold. In the verses leading up to this first word, we are introduced to a huge map in which everyone’s life plays out. God’s creation, which he deeply loves, has fallen into darkness. We can’t keep God’s law on our own. We can’t even atone for our sin. But watch! Behold! God is about to do something about it. Open the door. Come and see.
I. As we walk through the door, it’s important to understand who owns this house. Who is this “I”? According to the author, it’s Jesus. He is the real author and finisher, the architect and cornerstone of our faith. So this must be God’s house. Why is this an important fact? Because at its core, Christianity is not about what we do. It’s not about the “house” that we build. It’s about what God has already done, is doing now, and will do in the future. It’s about his house, his kingdom.
Come. And what has God done? He came to us, personally, not to condemn us but to save us. God with us, born of a virgin, Immanuel! This is the foundation of our faith. What is he doing right now? He is coming to us through the Holy Spirit. He is inviting us to come farther into his Father’s mansion, which has many rooms (John 14:2). There are rooms of healing, worship, joy, patience, faith, love—the list goes on.
Behold, I come. Let Jesus’ words resound in your heart today. There is so much more to be gleaned from them. There are so many more rooms in this “little house” for you to explore. Let these words become your prayer to him.
“Lord Jesus, thank you for inviting me into your home. Here I come!”
Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 10-11
Mark 3:31-35
