Raymond Arroyo > Quotes

“You want to do something for the Lord . . . do it. Whatever you feel needs to be done, even though you’re shaking in your boots, you’re scared to death—take the first step forward. The grace comes with that one step and you get the grace as you step. Being afraid is not a problem; it’s doing nothing when you’re afraid.”
― Raymond Arroyo, Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles

“The final mark of a saint is not perfection, but lived virtue. It is the striving for holiness throughout the arc of a life that makes a saint.”
― Raymond Arroyo, Mother Angelica: Her Grand Silence: The Last Years and Living Legacy

“When you’re concentrating on anything that’s disruptive in your life, you really don’t love anybody.”
― Raymond Arroyo, Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles

“Unless you are willing to do the ridiculous, God will not do the miraculous. When you have God, you don’t have to know everything about it; you just do it.”
― Raymond Arroyo, Mother Angelica: Her Grand Silence: The Last Years and Living Legacy

“—Si quieres hacer algo por el Señor… hazlo. Lo que sientas que hace falta hacer, aunque tiembles de miedo, da el primer paso hacia delante. La gracia viene con ese paso y recibirás más gracia con los demás pasos que des. Sentir miedo no es el problema; el problema está en no hacer nada cuando sientes miedo—dijo la Madre Angélica.”
― Raymond Arroyo, Madre Angelica: La historia notable de una monja, de su nervio, y de una red de milagros

“Our society has a tendency to ignore or diminish the value of the infirm and the frail elderly. Their suffering and physical debilitation are reminders of our own mortality and the last act that awaits us all. But as the lives of Blessed Mother Teresa and Saint Pope John Paul II teach us, the end can be the most efficacious part of a life.”
― Raymond Arroyo, Mother Angelica: Her Grand Silence: The Last Years and Living Legacy

“writing for a couple of months after a woman accused her of committing the grammatical sin”
― Raymond Arroyo, Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles

“Start living life; stop looking at it”
― Raymond Arroyo

“Many believe effective networking is done face-to-face, building a rapport with someone by looking at them in the eye, leading to a solid connection and foundational trust.”
― Raymond Arroyo

“One evening, before shooting her live show, she gave me but one instruction, which has haunted me to this day: “Make sure you present the real me. There is nothing worse than a book that sugar-coats the truth and ducks the humanity of the person. I wish you forty years in purgatory if you do that!” Hoping to steer clear of that ignoble end, I have written a book that does not avoid controversy or the seeming contradictions inherent in Mother Angelica’s character:”
― Raymond Arroyo, Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles

“In April 2001, after a particularly grueling interview session, Mother began to withdraw softly into the recesses of her cloister. Then on the threshold, she spun around like a coy young girl, slapping a hand on the rounded door frame. “You now know as much about me as God does,” she said with a wry smile. “But there are some things even you will never know.” “You don’t mind if I keep trying, do you?” I asked. She cackled gaily, retreating into the hall.”
― Raymond Arroyo, Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles

“Italians were confined to the district by a combination of illiteracy and the constant tribute demanded by their wayward countrymen. It was a ghetto ruled by the Black Hand, a criminal organization with roots in Sicily. And though the mobsters carried black-handled revolvers as they conducted business in the neighborhood, the name Black Hand originated in the old country. Mob activity flourished during that era. A train of organized corruption ran from Cleveland to Canton to Steubenville. Cherry Street was the center of the Canton action, an avenue where racketeering joints and roving prostitutes vied for the same souls as St. Anthony’s Catholic Church.”
― Raymond Arroyo, Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles

“Like the rest of us, nothing happened for Mother Angelica in a flash. Hers is a tale of mostly painful, confused, and, to the outsider, lunatic steps leading to a satisfying end. But the inspiration of her story resides in the struggle—a struggle that has for the most part been concealed or lost over time.”
― Raymond Arroyo, Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles

“she remains a mystery even to her legions of followers. How did this neglected, withdrawn child of divorce rise to become one of the most revered and feared women in Catholicism? How did a cloistered nun with no broadcast experience conquer the airwaves? How did stomach ailments, shattered vertebrae, an enlarged heart, chronic asthma, paralysis, and twisted limbs actually further her mission? What fueled her well-known public battles with Church hierarchy over practice and devotion? How has her television network and religious order managed to thrive while others have collapsed?”
― Raymond Arroyo, Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles