Letters 04.17.16

Thank You, Mother!

 

A sampling of Mother Angelica remembrances, with some edits for clarity and length:

 

I met her personally, when she was visiting the Holy Father, John Paul II, at the Vatican, and I have to give a witness: She was a wonderful woman dedicated to Jesus and to the Church. She devoted her life to ministry, converting untold numbers of people to the Church. She left an indelible mark on the Catholic Church and the world as a whole. She will always be remembered for her personal sermons, and she will live on forever in the hearts of all those whom her sermons have touched through her gift to the world, the Eternal Word Television Network. Mother Angelica was a great apostle of Jesus and gave a wonderful witness to the love of God in the Eternal Word Television Network. I am convinced she is enjoying eternal life with Our Lord in heaven. I would like to express my condolences to the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration in the convent in Hanceville and to the all collaborators of EWTN in Irondale, Ala., and assure you who are mourning your mother of my prayers. May Jesus, who conquered death, be the source of hope for you all.

                        Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz

                        Metropolitan archbishop of Krakow

 

Mother Angelica was a pioneer, a missionary in the digital space, an example of the possibilities for the New Evangelization and a saint.

                        Archbishop Julian Porteous

                        Archdiocese of Hobart, Australia

 

Her story is so amazing — from such a humble start, she achieved so much! Just proves the power of faith.

                        Jerri Donohue

                        Register correspondent

 

Like everyone at the Register, I’m very much in her debt. Lux perpetuae luceat eis.

                        Steven D. Greydanus @DecentFilms

                        Register film critic

 

I began watching Mother when I was a student in a liberal Protestant seminary, where I was being bombarded with heretical rubbish. Needless to say, I was depressed, but by watching Mother Angelica, I found tremendous courage to live in the power of Christ’s truth. When I became a Presbyterian pastor, I taught her book Answers, Not Promises to the congregation of First Presbyterian Church, Waycross, Ga. It was enthusiastically received. I wrote Mother that a Presbyterian church in southeast Georgia had been greatly blessed by her book. Several weeks later, I received an announcement from EWTN stating that on Nov. 1 a Mass would be offered in my honor and my wife’s. In my letter to Mother, I did not mention I was married. The miracle was that Nov. 1 is the anniversary of our wedding. Again, I had said nothing in the letter about my being married. Mother was a major reason I became Catholic in 2011. 

                        Norman

                        Mobile, Alabama

 

My condolences regarding the passing away of Mother Angelica. She was a tremendous spiritual personality. Please know that we pray for her in Orthodox Russia.

         Nick Goryachkin

         Blagovest Media, Russia

 

Receive our condolences from the Episcopal Conference in Paraguay (CEP). We assure you of our spiritual closeness in this time of mourning for the passing of the dear Mother Angelica, on March 27, the day of Easter. Her long and fertile life in service of the Church has left us a legacy that commits us to continue and tirelessly work on the promotion of the Word of God, as we have done over the past 20 years in Paraguay, with the initial support of Mother Angelica herself through her pioneer and prophetic work through EWTN. May the Lord, whose generosity cannot be surpassed, grant his disciple missionary with a dwelling in the Home of the Celestial Father. Thank you, Mother Angelica!

         Msgr. Joaquín Robledo

          Bishop of San Lorenzo

         Bishops’ conference of Paraguay

 

Thanks Mother Angelica! EWTN has fed me and the world for so long and will continue doing so till the Lord returns. The network now has a unique advocate with the Lord. Please stay faithful to her message of hope. Be bold like she was bold. Stay faithful to Church teachings, as you know she’s always with you. I first listened to EWTN in Cameroon in the middle-to-late ’80s. I lived on the foothills of Mount Cameroon, which (due to elevation) helped strengthen the shortwave signal. The Salve Regina during frequency changes used to almost bring me to tears. I continued listening on shortwave when I moved to the U.S. and when I visited Cameroon on trips. I miss that shortwave broadcast! God bless Mother, a good and faithful servant in the vineyard. Thank you.

         Karl Mondoa

         Maryland (Cameroon)

 

I began distributing Mother Angelica’s pamphlets in the Virgin Islands when I first discovered them in the 1970s. Everyone loved them. When I heard she had started a TV station, EWTN, I felt we just had to be able to watch her here. Corresponding with EWTN, Mother sent me packages to distribute to our pastors. I visited our bishop and told him all about Mother and this endeavor. He commissioned me to be the instrument to make it happen. I visited our only TV station, asking them to bring in EWTN. The manager told me that when they had a new transponder they would consider it. The pamphlets were distributed to all the pastors, asking them to petition the TV station to bring it in. There was a different TV station on St. Croix, which I hoped would cooperate, too. After an hour of talking, he convinced himself to give it a try, reluctantly. He told me later that, after we left, he called his lawyer in D.C. to consult with him about the risks he was taking. His lawyer, who is Italian, laughed and said, “I am Mother Angelica’s lawyer. She always accomplishes what she starts, even though she doesn’t have the funds. You can take a chance on her.”

So it happened. Bishop O’Malley invited Mother Angelica to come here to inaugurate our station, Catholic Television Network. It continues to this day. I thank the Lord Jesus and his Blessed Mother for blessing us with the privilege of welcoming Mother Angelica to our shores. She left an impact still felt by the faithful. This was one of the highlights of my life, and I wanted to share it with you. May she rest in peace and be long remembered.

         Claire Foster

         St. Thomas Virgin Islands

 

Correction

In our page-one story “Notre Dame to Honor Another Pro-Abortion Politician” (April 3), this line should have included “not” (included here with emphasis): “And at least two bishops, Bishop John Ricard of the Diocese of Tallahassee-Pensacola, Fla., in 2008, and Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2012, have indicated that Biden should not present himself to receive Communion in light of his support for policies that conflict with fundamental Church teachings.” The Register regrets the error.