Before becoming a parent, I would have found myself struggling to find similarities between my life and that of a feisty, Italian cloistered nun. Now, parenthood has me walking in lockstep with one of the world’s most famous feisty, Italian cloistered nuns: Mother Angelica.

A champion for ordinary holiness, her spirituality challenges us to examine the areas of our lives that prevent us from loving God more fully, loving others more fully, and living our vocation more fully. In her writings and television shows, she was quite transparent about struggles with her temper, lack of patience, and everyday annoyances. Sounds a lot like parenthood, am I right?

Still, she wanted to rise above her weaknesses and reach for holiness, and she showed her readers, viewers and listeners how to do the same.

Her wit and words of wisdom still resonate especially for parents who want to raise saints in today’s world but feel overwhelmed at the idea of making that call a reality (especially if they too struggle with a temper, lack of patience and everyday annoyances). 

My husband Dave and I knew it was important to share her spirituality with families, which is why we included the list below in The Prayer Book for Tired Parents: Practical Ways to Grow in Love of God and Get Your Family to Heaven, from EWTN Publishing.

 

1. When you’re struggling to be patient, Mother says:

When I was a young novice, I used to pray in the early
morning, “Dear Lord, today I am going to be patient come
hell or high water.” And by nine o’clock came hell and
high water! I blew it! … Patience is adjusting your time to
God’s timing.

2. When you’re feeling dryness in prayer, Mother says:
 

I guarantee that if your soul is at peace because God is in
charge, you’ll pray without ceasing, though you may not
say prayers and you may not think beautiful meditations.

3. When you’re feeling anxious about what the future holds, Mother says:
 

We worry about the past, we worry about the future, and
we worry about the present. I mean, what worry-warts we
are! We worry instead of saying, “He’s watching me. He
sees me and He loves me.” That’s why He says, “Courage.
It is I. Do not be afraid.”

4. When you’re trying to defeat sinful anger, Mother says:
 

Don’t say, “If it weren’t for that person, I could be holy.” No, you can be
holy because of that person.

5. When you’re asking why God allows suffering in your life, Mother says:

 Next to my vocation, the greatest gift I have is the pain I
carry every day, because it forces me to cling to Jesus. … 

Holiness is not for wimps, and the cross
isn’t negotiable, Sweetheart — it’s a requirement.
 

6. When you get pushback from others for the faith you’re living, Mother says:

It’s your obligation to speak the truth, and everyone can
either take it or leave it. But truth must be in us. We live
in such a poverty of truth today. … God wants you to be
in the world, but so different from the world that you will
change it. Get cracking!

7. When it’s difficult to love your neighbor, Mother says:
 

If I prefer the good of my neighbor to myself, I can rest
assured that I love my neighbor in the same way God loves
me, because that’s how He loves me in the Eucharist. If
I can be dependent, self-sacrificing, humble, loving, and
compassionate, then I love as God loves; I love as God
loves me.

 

8. When you realize you need to abandon yourself to God’s will, Mother says:
 

To know that the Father’s Wisdom is in every cross is faith.
To trust that everything that happens to us is for our good
is hope. But to express our love for Him in the midst of
darkness and aridity is the purest love.

 

9. When you feel you’ve sinned too much for God to love you still, Mother says:
 

God always forgives when you are totally repentant and you
desire to change. He forgives … and He never gets tired of
forgiving. Never. You may get tired of asking. I hope not.
He never, never tires of forgiving. Never.

 

10. When you’re discerning the next step in life, Mother says:
 

Unless you are willing to do the ridiculous, God will not
do the miraculous. When you have God, you don’t have
to know everything about it; you just do it. ... Everything
starts with one person. ... I don’t care if you’re 5 or 105,
God from all eternity chose you to be where you are, at this
time in history, to change the world.

If you have not read much from Mother Angelica or have not watched her shows, I highly recommend spending time with her. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will be inspired to grow in your love of God and become a great saint.