January 27 2021 - St. Angela Merici - Let love for others be intense

 Angela Merici was born on March 21, 1474.  Out of love for Jesus, she consecrated herself to him before she was ten years old and persuaded her sister to do the same—promising never to get married and to live a life of prayer and service.  As she grew in age, she became concerned by the lack of religious training of the young people, so she took it upon herself to give regular instruction to the young neighborhood girls.  She was joined by neighborhood women with similar ideals.

It wasn’t until the age of 61 that she, and 28 other women formed the Order of Ursulines, the first teaching order of religious sisters in the history of the Church. St. Angela and the Ursulines were dedicated to re-christianizing family life through solid Christian education, especially for young girls who were the future Christian wives and mothers.  The Company of St. Ursula spread throughout Italy and France and eventually through all of Europe.  They were the very first Catholic nuns to land in the new world.  

Before Cleveland was even a diocese, Father Amadeus Rappe, who would become the first bishop of Cleveland was chaplain to the Ursulines in the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer in France. When in 1847, he became the first Bishop of Cleveland, it was among his top priorities to establish schools.   So, he invited the Ursulines from Boulogne-sur-Mer to begin a foundation in Cleveland and to start the Catholic school system in north eastern Ohio. 

St. Angela knew the importance of passing on the faith, taking serious efforts in the lives of children to instill in them faith in Jesus Christ.  She was a woman of action whose efforts changed Church history, When she saw the ignorance of the children in her neighborhood, she didn’t just wring her hands or complain, she went out and taught them.

Like St. Paul who we celebrated on Monday, timothy and titus who we celebrated yesterday, St. Angela knew the importance of passing on the faith to the younger generation, and did something about it. She emulates many of those virtues St. Peter writes about in his first letter: sober minded, hospital, loving of others with intensity, a steward of God’s manifold grace, one who despite her challenges, served God with the strength that God supplied. Her concern for the young was a concern for the Lord Himself. She loved others intensely because she loved him intensely.

May we do the same, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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As we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, next week, we pray for all students in Catholic schools, that the Spirit of God may grant them the gifts of wisdom and understanding, and that teachers may share their knowledge with gentleness, patience, and competence. 

For parents, the first teachers of their children, that by their faith and love, they may be blessings to their families, and for a strengthening of all families in faith. 

In Thanksgiving for the Ursuline Order, for their efforts to instill faith in our Diocese over the decades.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord