One day, my mother sent me to see her. Finding one of our [Discalced Carmelite] Fathers on the same balcony, he called out to me (and asked) if I wanted to come near him so that he could shield me from the abundant rain that was falling. I accepted his offer. I began to greet him and thank him, with all the polite pleasantries of the world.

He began to ask me if I wanted to become a religious. I answered that my age still allowed me time to think about it. But the good religious, not satisfied with this answer, pressed me insistently, saying that I had all the appearance of one called to this life.

I let myself be persuaded and replied, “Yes.”

He then asked, “Where?”

I said, “At Saluzzo,” but my heart did not find peace. I feared they would say that I did not have a true vocation, as I couldn’t find a convent that suited (satisfied) me.

I had barely voiced this thought before I even fully considered it—something entirely contrary to my nature, as I am usually very reserved in sharing my thoughts. But God allowed it for my good.

The good religious then asked me, “What about joining one of ours?”

I replied, “I don’t know them.”

He began to explain the life they led and how they wore habits made of the same cloth as the one he was wearing. As he described their observance, I felt my desire growing within me.

At that moment, another downpour came. This good religious placed his cloak over my head. Oh, God! What an effect this cloak had on my soul! It felt as though I were under the mantle of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I pleaded with her to accept me as her daughter and not to deny me this grace. I made the same petition to the Holy Shroud, and with such tenderness of heart that the tears from my eyes did what the rain from heaven could not—they drenched me completely.

Blessed Mary of the Angels

From her writings

Note: The friar mentioned above was Father Francesco Antonio di San Andrea, O.C.D., and “Saluzzo” refers to the Cistercian Monastery of La Stella in Rifredo, near Saluzzo, where the Blessed initially entered religious life at age 12. This monastery was her first experience of monastic life before she eventually entered the Carmel of Santa Cristina in Turin in 1676. In 1703, she founded the Carmel of St. Joseph in Moncalieri.

Translation from the Italian text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Detail from an anonymous portrait of Blessed Mary of the Angels. Image credit: santibeati.it / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)