In time for the 43rd anniversary of when Poor Clare Mother Mary Angelica inaugurated EWTN’s programming from Irondale, Alabama, on Aug. 15, 1981, comes the EWTN Publishing release of a new title in Mother’s inimitable fashion, Mother Angelica’s Keys to the Interior Life. 

Through scores of programs, Mother Angelica blessed viewers with her timeless wit and wisdom. This new book highlights that wit, wisdom, compassion and practical, commonsense guidance. 

She was candid and right to the point in the way she expressed the faith — inspiring countless souls and bringing them closer to Christ and our Blessed Mother.  

Each page provides Mother’s guidance on how to live Catholicism in the modern world, grow in personal relationship with God and devotion to our Eucharistic Lord, and open one’s heart to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

Father Joseph Mary Wolfe, chaplain and chapel dean for EWTN, knew Mother from the earliest years when he came to EWTN in 1985 and then became one of the founding members of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word, the men’s community founded by Mother Angelica in 1987. He shared some thoughts and insights with the Register about Mother Angelica’s Keys to the Interior Life. 

Mother had an amazing wisdom that anyone could understand. What is some of the timeless wisdom we will find in this book? 

She taught us the way to peace of heart, which is having a great confidence in God’s providential care whatever may come, and she made that believable because it was obvious in her demeanor and in the tone of her voice that she had deep interior peace. In the chapter on “Trusting God in the Present Moment,” she said, “So when Our Lord says, ‘Don’t let your hearts be troubled,’ what He is saying is that, in the present moment, be it ever so tragic, God has designed it or willed it or permitted it for some greater good, and that is the basis of our trust. ...That’s an awfully big order. But we have an awfully big God.” 

Why is her guidance on how to live Catholicism in the modern world and grow in our personal relationship with God so relatable,? 

Mother Angelica was always very “down-to-earth” and practical in her advice to others, with lots of real-life examples, which is why so many came to see her and so many called in to her shows. For example, in the chapter titled  “Love One Another as I Have Loved You,” she said, “And the beauty of love is that it is sacrificial. When sacrifice ends, love grows cold — very cold. That’s why a lot of marriages don’t work today. If you’re not willing to give and give and give, if you’re going to calculate everything. … No, He commanded us to love.” 

 

What might be one relatable problem discussed in the book, and what advice did Mother give to help overcome it? 

In my 31 years of priesthood, I have met many people who do not love themselves, may even loathe themselves in some ways. Mother said, “You know why a lot of people find it hard to love today? Because they don’t love themselves. If you don’t love yourself and you don’t know that you carry within you a temple of the Holy Trinity, if you don’t love yourself and know your dignity and know you’ve been chosen by God, if you hate yourself for whatever reason, you’re going to be a Marxist to everybody. Because you can’t give what you don’t possess.” 

 

Please share an example from the book of “classic” Mother Angelica advice that has helped countless people over the years. 

Here is something new I learned from this book in the chapter on “Becoming Disciples and Friends of Jesus.” Mother spoke of remaining in “the aura of holiness.” She says that we do that by being aware of: the presence of the Lord in our hearts; the friendship of Mary and of the saints, and of the beautiful people around us. “If we remain in that aura of holiness and goodness, we will only ask for the will of God. … There are many times in my life I have prayed for things that I’m awfully glad I didn’t get. I really am. I can say, ‘Thank You, Jesus, that I didn’t get that prayer answered.’ But at the time, I just thought the Lord had abandoned me.” 

 

Anything else that you see as important to add about this book and how it will help readers in living a Catholic life more fully? 

I especially like the chapter “Expectancy.” It’s an important chapter for today because people need hope. Mother goes through each stage of life, from birth to old age, and talks about the hope and expectancy that must be present in each stage of life and the challenges to hope that can seem overwhelming at times. She has very helpful advice for parents when their children have gone astray: “Tonight, before you go to bed, say, ‘Lord, I give You my children; I give You my loved ones.’ … You know that you can have an assured expectancy that God will take care of them, and you will see them again in His kingdom, because you can trust Him.”