Suppose you were about to do a Google search to find out who is the patron saint of television. Would you expect to find out that it’s a Franciscan woman who died in the year 1253? Strange but true, St. Clare of Assisi is a patron saint of television, as declared by Pope Pius XII in 1958.
Start with the obvious fact that St. Clare obviously never saw an actual television set, since electricity wasn’t even available for about another 600 years. Then, let’s all appreciate the irony that an icon of the Franciscan order, one that is known for a devotion to nature, is patron saint of a device that tends to keep people from going outside to enjoy nature!
The irony extends even further when you consider her devotion to a life of poverty. Even if she lived in a time when televisions existed, she likely would not have owned one. So why would Pope Pius XII make this designation?
Well, as the story goes, St. Clare was the first person to benefit from a televised mass, albeit in supernatural form. When she was bedridden and unable to attend mass, she could see and hear it on the wall of her room. It sounds like the Holy Spirit was centuries ahead of EWTN.
Okay, so here’s where this story starts to play out like so many other events in my life lately. I decided to throw in the EWTN reference kind of on a whim. I’ve never really watched it before, although I think my dad used to like it. Then I decided to look up how it was founded, to see if it was around yet when Pope Pius XII made that declaration. It wasn’t, but here is the connection I didn’t expect to find…
…the foundress of the station was Mother Angelica. You’ll never guess what her religious affiliation was. She was a Poor Clare nun! But it doesn’t sound like she set out to found a television station in honor of her order’s namesake.
In fact, she began evangelizing by writing short books. When requests for speaking engagements began to come with greater frequency, she began to make a video series of her talks, taping them at a nearby television station. That evolved into her effort to build a small studio at Our Lady of Angels Monastery, which she founded in the early 1960s. Thanks to generous gifts, that studio has grown and is now state-of-the-art.
Although not officially declared a saint in the Catholic Church, it seems I stumbled across another great female role model. Her greatest devotion, similar to St. Clare, was to the Blessed Sacrament. There is perpetual Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament at the monastery, which she established at the monastery’s founding. According to biographical information at www.ewtn.com, “Visitors of all faiths are invited to ‘come away by yourself to a quiet place, and rest a while.’ (Mark 6:31) and to pray before the Most Blessed Sacrament, adored and loved perpetually by the cloistered nuns now living at Our Lady of Angels Monastery.” (para 5)
I do want to make the connection that I thought was going to be the focus of this post, which is the blessing that faithful Catholics today do have the option to experience mass, even when they are too ill to attend, thanks to broadcasts of the mass on television, by stations like EWTN. I am so glad our sick and shut-ins have this option, and I hope there are plenty of volunteers to also take Holy Communion to them.
That makes me wonder, did that ministry exist in the 13th century? I wonder if St. Clare had someone who brought Holy Communion to her. It seems likely that someone would do so, since she lived in a religious order. But I don’t know the details of Sacramental rites 8 centuries ago, so maybe it wasn’t allowed or considered appropriate.
So I am thankful today for this new leg of my journey that led me to learn a little more about Mother Angelica and EWTN. Although I haven’t really watched the station before, I am suddenly drawn to the idea of exploring it a little more. Maybe there is something there that would enhance my journey. Maybe the Lord guided me there today for that reason. I suppose I will have to start watching to find out.
Dear God, thank you for always guiding us to new and interesting resources to enhance our faith. Thank you for the wonderful role models of St. Clare and Mother Angelica. Please continue to lead us to every source that might enrich our faith lives and bring us closer to you.