Thursday, March 28, AD 2024 9:29pm

Saint of the Day Quote: Blessed Angela Ginard Marti

All they can do to us is kill us, nothing more.

Blessed Angela Ginard Marti

A martyr at the outset of the Spanish Civil War, Blessed Angela Ginard Marti sacrificed her life to save others:

Sister Mary of the Angels, the lover of simplicity and a shining example of humility, was quite surprised when she was named Mother Superior of the convent in Madrid.  She was there in 1936 when the Spanish Civil War erupted, and religious persecution began its ever winding, merciless assault on all things religious, especially clergy.

Sister Mary Angela, quite unsettled by the events and not knowing what to do, immediately began spending as much time as she could before the Blessed Sacrament. She turned her fears and anxiety over to God and offered Him her life as a martyr if it were His will.

On July 20, 1936, she and the other Sisters, using disguises, fled the convent and went into hiding. The Sisters were very concerned about their future. Before leaving, Sister Mary of the Angels said to them all, “Please do not worry. All they can do is kill us, nothing more.” Amazingly, these words brought comfort to the others with her.

Sister Mary was allowed to hide in the apartment of a family who lived near the convent. From the window, she could see the soldiers destroying the church, the convent, and other religious objects, including all the statues. The intentional destruction of all that was dear to her sickened her. For Sister, it was worse than being killed.

During the evening of Tuesday, August 25, 1936,  there came pounding on the door and loud voices.  A woman opened the door. It was the landlord’s sister. She was immediately arrested.

Sister Mary of the Angels came from the other room and said sternly to the soldiers, “The woman you have taken hold of is NOT a Religious. I am the only Religious here.”  They released the landlord’s daughter and bound the hands of Sister Mary. She was taken to a nearby holding cell.  Her future to become a martyr had been sealed. A soldier said to her, “Tomorrow you take the ‘little walk.” Everyone knew what that meant.

The next morning, as the sun was just peeking over the horizon, Sister Mary of the Angels was forced to take the “little walk” to Dehesa de la Villa. She stood erect facing the firing squad and was praying as the bullets ripped into her body ending her earthly life. Later, her body was recovered and today it rests in the chapel of the convent in Madrid.

Sister Mary of the Angels was declared killed “in odium fidei” (in hatred of the faith) and beatified on October 29, 2005.

Go here to read the rest.  If you ever need courage, ask her to intercede to God on your behalf, as God blessed her with courage in abundance.

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father of seven
father of seven
Friday, August 30, AD 2019 4:56am

Who shoots a defenseless nun? I thought the Republican forces only did romantic things. Isn’t that what Hemingway told us?

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