Our Lady of the Angels

Today Franciscans throughout the world celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels, the name of the Church which became the place wherein Francis began his Order. 

The story of the annunciation of the birth of Jesus is so frequently cited in the context of our Eucharist that its impact may have dulled over time.  The elements of the story are well known to all of us and have become a regular part of our daily prayer through the Angelus. 

Historically speaking, the little chapel named for the Queen of the Angels also figures quite prominently in our spiritual lives as we remember St. Francis’ love for his little portion.  There the Franciscan movement enjoyed its first stirrings.  There St. Francis enjoined the brothers to construct small hermitages for themselves so that they could enter into the mystery of contemplation of our true portion – God in the flesh.  There St. Francis received St. Clare.  There Francis died.  

Franciscan spirituality has been called incarnational.  The mysteries of God’s love for us are best understood in terms of our mortality and our physicality.  God loves us so much that God becomes one of us sharing our physical body and our mortality.  With the psalms we claim that God alone is our portion and our cup.  Like the Levites of the Hebrew Scriptures who did not receive a portion of the land, God becomes our inheritance and our place of refuge. 

So we celebrate today that God is here among us.  The words of the angel ring loud and clear.  “The Lord is with you.”  When these words become a part of our very being, we realize that there is absolutely nothing that we cannot do or endure for we possess His strength and His endurance.  As we eat His body and drink His Blood, let the words of the angels seep into our souls just as surely as this food and drink become part of our bodies.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator