Theology of the Body: Blessed Angela of Foligno, 1248-1309

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Blessed Angela of Foligno, 1248-1309

"At times God comes into the soul without being called; and He instills into her fire, love and sweetness; and the soul believes this comes from God, and she delights in it. But she does not yet know or see that He Himself dwells in her; she perceives His grace, in which she delights. ... And beyond this the soul receives the gift of seeing God. God says to her, 'Behold me!' and then the soul sees Him dwelling within her; she sees Him more clearly than one man can see another.

For the eyes of the soul behold a plenitude of which I cannot speak; a plenitude which is not bodily but spiritual, of which I can say nothing. And the soul rejoices in that sight with an ineffable joy; and this is the manifest and certain sign that God indeed dwells in her."

- Bl. Angela, Third Order of St. Francis.

Blessed Angela is also known as 'the mistress of theologians.' I like that, and I like another anecdote heard from a Catholic speaker yesterday; PhD = "prophet, healer, deliverer." It's sort of nouvelle, but you know, encouraging for a rainy day.