(1846-1932) Maria of the Angels Guerrero Gonzalez was born to a poor, pious family in Seville, Spain. Her parents worked in a monastery for the Trinitarian Fathers, and at 12, she had to quit school to work in a shoe repair shop to help support the family. At 19, she tried to join the Carmelites, but her health was too frail. Angela served cholera victims, and three years later, tried to join the Daughters of Charity, but had to return home again due to health problems, where she continued to work at the shoe factory. At 29, she founded the Sisters of the Company of the Cross and took the name Mother Angela of the Cross. The Company serves the sick, the poor, the homeless, and orphans.
Health issues kept Saint Angela from pursuing a vocation on her own terms, but God used her strong faith and compassion for the benefit of many. When has your recovery led you in an unexpected direction?
“The nothing keeps silent, the nothing does not want to be, the nothing suffers all…The nothing does not impose itself, the nothing does not command with authority, and finally, the nothing in the creature is practical humility” (Saint Angela of the Cross).
Reflection by Brad Farmer