This is one of the most extraordinary biographies you will ever read.
It is the story of a poverty-stricken girl, whose parents were divorced, who hated her father, hated nuns, was poorly educated and had little contact with the Church, but who grew up to found the world's first independent Catholic television network, becoming the best-known nun in the world and reputedly "the most powerful Catholic woman in America." More importantly, it is a scarcely credible story of the power of divine providence matched with unshakeable faith.
Raymond Arroyo spent five years interviewing Mother Angelica and gathering information, and his dedication pays off in his beautiful and detailed portrait of this amazing woman. And for people like me with failing memories, his index is very thorough.
It is an honest book. Arroyo does not gloss over Mother's faults. He presents her as an inspired, very determined, but humble, fallible and frequently confused woman, who is willing to endure anything in order to do what she perceives as God's will.
Two things stand out in her life: her complete orthodoxy in matters pertaining to faith, morals and liturgy, and the complete unorthodoxy of her manner of doing things. She defines her faith as having "one foot on the ground, one foot in the air, and a queasy feeling in the stomach." One of her personal mottoes is: "Unless you are willing to do the ridiculous, God will not do the miraculous."
Her achievements, particularly the formation of the Eternal Word Television Network, have been breath-taking, but they have never been easy. The reviewers who suggest that her money could have been better spent appear to have missed the central point that she never had any money. Month after month, year after year, she would be on the verge of financial ruin, with no way of getting any more money, but at the last moment a cheque would arrive for thousands of dollars, even hundreds of thousands, often from someone she had never even heard of. Just reading about her financial difficulties was stomach-churning. What must living them have been like?
All her life Mother Angelica has been fighting - against poverty, against prejudice, against unbelief, against a life-long succession of serious illnesses, against her own inadequacies, against those who would destroy her work, against the sheer impossibility of the tasks she believes God has sent her to do. At every point, her success has been matched by tremendous suffering. Truly, her life shows that God will not be outdone in generosity toward those who are generous with Him.
According to Cardinal Oddi, Pope John Paul said: "EWTN is the key to restoring the Roman Catholic Church in America." This book shows why.

This was a very difficult book for me to read. As an adult I rediscovered the beauty and fullness of Catholic truth thanks to a faithful priest who wasn't afraid to evangelize. I learned the beauty of what the church teaches on hard issues like contraception from him. The truths he shared changed my life and my marriage for the better.

Soon thereafter I discovered Mother Angelica and EWTN. Between regular spiritual direction, frequent reception of the sacraments, and the excellent programing on Mother's network, I was soon on fire for love of Jesus, the Catholic faith, and for the fullness of truth. I quit my job as a public school teacher to teach in the Catholic schools taking a SIGNIFICANT cut in salary. After two years I enrolled in a graduate program in Catholic educational leadership at a "Catholic" University because the "sixth year" could ease the financial burden my growing family was under.

As soon as I entered the world of Catholic education I discovered the sting of persecution. No one is more reactionary and hateful than a Catholic who has abandoned the truth, and wants the Church to do the same. The world I entered was full of such poor and wayward folks. In their defense, some of them had never heard the truth, even though they had "religious studies" degrees. I was shocked the first time I heard of a religion teacher in a Catholic school denying the resurrection. I was further shocked to learn that he would regard people who held to the articles of faith as "mindless fundamentalists." Soon, I would become less incredulous, and far more cynical. The people who came up in the church of the 70's and 80's amount to a lost generation. Thank God for courageous shepherds like John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and their faithful followers, among whom Mother Angelica can count herself.

As soon as Raymond Arroyo's book came out I purchased it and read it in two days. The difficulties and insults some of us have had to endure as faithful Catholics pale in comparison to what this bride of our Lord and Savior had to undergo. The American bishops themselves were often the most bigoted and cruel regarding Mother. She was a threat to their power. John Paul II supported her and her work, but his protection was hardly enough to protect her against her enemies. A woman exercising such an incredible degree of influence in the Church did not please bishops, but because she happened to be a faithful Catholic, it pleased liberals even less. One religion teacher I worked with, who at least acknowledged the resurrection, but claimed Jesus was married to Mary Magdeline, called Mother a "restorationist" and an "enemy of the council." She also said the Church was "dead wrong" on contraception and women priests. She also looked down on Eucharistic Adoration, which was "outdated" and an "impediment" to a relationship with Christ. She recommended Cursillo retreats... She assured me that once I experienced Christ I too would understand that woman's ordination, contraception, and a married Jesus were ideas whose time had come. I went on one of those retreats... My experiences with the "charismatic renewal" are similar to Mother's as outlined in this excellent book. Oh, by the way, at Cursillo I learned that Catholics who are strange enough to believe what the Catholic church teaches are "Pharisaical Phils." Interesting.

This is a great book to read, but it is painful. When I see how Mother was treated by people who are successors to the apostles, whom we call "Your Excellency," it is enough to tempt me to a level anger that would be sinful. The process I underwent while reading this excellent book would make me look silly an observer. I would read it, put it down and pace, sputter angrily, then pick it up and read it again. I did this for two days until I was done. I regained my peace of mind after about a week. Challenging yes... but definitely worth it. This book says to all of us who have tried stand for the moral and religious truths the Church proclaims "you are not alone!" This is true, even though the majority of Catholics who teach in the church's schools and universities can make you feel very, very alone.

The gates of hell will never prevail against the Church. God has raised people like Mother Angelica up to defend it in the face of attacks, within and without. Raymond Arroyo paints a picture of a courageous woman who defended the faith. We must do the same.