A saint with the spirit of Carmel

I found this about St Angela Merici (1474-1540, today's feast) on an Ursuline website – it seems she was very close to us Carmelites in spirit:

‘Deeply involved in a world of contrasts marked by suffering, Angela Merici appears to us as a lovely figure of womanliness. She was a contemplative, captured by the Lord whom she sought and found everywhere. 'Everywhere' for her meant in long hours of prayer; it also meant every place where she felt she had a task to do, every person she met..., every service she rendered according to needs and circumstances. Active and devoted lay people found in her an inspiring leader, deeply faithful to the Church... Reading and interpreting the signs of the times, she was led by the Spirit to undertake an entirely new way of life which evolved gradually as she moved forward, step by step in response to his call.’  Angela Merici was an Italian religious educator who founded the Company of St Ursula in 1535, in which women dedicated their lives to the service of the church through the education of girls.  From this organisation later sprang the Order of St Ursula, whose nuns established places of prayer and learning throughout Europe and, later, worldwide, most notably in North America.

Intercessions:

Marie, Bernard (and wife Angela), Agnes – cancer

Siena, Elara – sick children

Rosemarie – multiple afflictions

Wojtek – massive heart attack leaving him incapacitated

RIP Anthony Kirke, husband of Judith Kirke OCDS (distributors of the Carmelite Diary)

RIP Roswitha Watson OCDS (former President of St Therese Community, Oxford)