A Personal Spiritual Journey (Part 7 of 8)...

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Upon entering through the side door, you are stunned by the awesomeness, the power, the spaciousness, the beauty, the silence, and the peace.


“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” ~ Psalm 37:7


White marble, precious gold adornments, rare woods, intricately designed stained glass windows, vaulted ceiling. Tall white columns – wide, firm and secure. The floors and wainscot portions of the walls laid with various shades of marble and red jasper (jasper being the first foundation of the New Jerusalem, the City of God in Revelations 21).

Sanctus-Sanctus-Sanctus written in the three steps to the Altar. And on the face of the altar is a detailed mosaic image of a Pelican feeding its young by piercing its own breast and offering its own blood. A symbol of Christ that dates back to the beginnings of Christianity. And I’m reminded of that early morning one week prior, when the sparrows were crying out for nourishment and comfort in the pre-dawn hours. And I’m reminded of my own late night cries for comfort – as a small child for its parent, and even today for my Eternal Parent, my Eternal Father.

The backdrop of the main altar is the ornately-speared Reredos (55’ high at it's highest point - made of rare cedar and shimmering in 24-karat gold-leaf).

The golden Tabernacle in the reredos behind the altar.

And the unmistakable and undeniably impressive Monstrance (nearly 8 foot tall gold and bejeweled). At its center - the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ exposed for perpetual adoration.


“Times must be set and hours must be assigned to provide for our health of soul.” ~ St. Augustine, Confessions: Book 6, Chapter 11.


The resident order of nuns, the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, are sectioned off sight unseen behind the reredos (approx. ¼ of the church). Most of them only appearing in public in a section behind a grill to the south of the altar during mass. Otherwise, most of the time they remain cloistered, maintaining adoration of the blessed sacrament, saying the rosary or novenas, singing hymns and chants, going through the liturgy of the hours, doing their daily functions and chores throughout the monastery.

There are 8 Large Stained Glass Windows (four along the north wall, four along the south wall) depicting eight scenes during the life of Christ, again with his Mother present:

- The Annunciation
- The Visitation
- The Adoration of the Magi
- The Hidden Life (depicting Jesus as a young boy with Joseph the Carpenter & Mary, His Mother)
- The Resurrection
- The Ascension
- The Descent of the Hold Spirit
- The Assumption and Coronation of Mary (Revelation 12)

Above these larger stained glass windows, in the second level, are 14 smaller Stained Glass Windows (seven along the north wall and seven along the south wall) representing:

- Each of the Nine Choirs of Angels (as enumerated in the Bible)
- The three archangels mentioned in the Bible by name: Michael, Gabriel & Rafael
- The Angel of the Apocalypse (mentioned in the Book of Revelation)
- And a Guardian Angel (representing the legion of these angels who’re charged
with watching over, guiding, comforting & protecting each one of us, individually)

And the angels in these windows were designed so that each one (depending on where it was placed along the walls) is facing towards the Real Presence of Christ in the Monstrance and Tabernacle.

Above the west wall in the back of the church is what is called the West Rose Window (depicting God the Father) and above the east wall behind the altar is the East Rose Window (depicting the Holy Spirit in the image of a dove).

Behind the reredos, the Poor Clare nuns begin reciting The Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel, and their angelic voices rise above and float ethereally in this shrine to our Lord and our God.

After trying to absorb and comprehend all of this breathtaking beauty, I am silenced like Zachariah. No. More accurately, I’m silenced like Job, who after reciting his litany of complaints (valid as they might be) and receiving weak excuses and poor advice from his friends (as well intentioned as they were), is suddenly questioned by the Almighty Lord, saying - “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the universe?”


“For He Himself is our peace.” ~ Ephesians 2:14


Upon leaving the church, I (as several others also do) I take the time to write down a note for special intentions and deposit it in the prayer box on the way out the door, ensuring that the nuns and friars here at this blessed place will offer their own fervent prayers. And all one can do is meditate on the experience as you quietly stroll the grounds amongst the deafening silence.


Now, this whole monastery was inspired by a trip Mother Angelica made to South America in preparations for starting a Spanish language television network for Latin America. While on a pilgrimage in Bogotá, Colombia, she went to the Sanctuary of the Divine Infant Jesus (founded nearly a century earlier by a Father John Rizzo – the same name as her own father). She was praying while staring at the beautiful statue of the Child Jesus there, when suddenly she saw the Child Jesus turn towards her and say, “Build me a Temple and I will help those who help you.” As soon as she returned to America, she began making plans to find a location and build this Shrine and monastery.

And what is even more amazing about this entire sacred, inspired and inspiring place named The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady of the Angels Monastery is this important fact – (quoting Mother Angelica in her introduction to “Come and See: A Pilgrim’s Picture Book of The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament”):

“We had no money to build, but we never tried to raise funds, and EWTN had no participation in paying for any part of the Temple. This was totally a project of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery… The entire edifice – Church, Piazza, Monastery, Enclosure Walls, roads – everything was paid for by [just] five families who wanted their donations to remain anonymous.” ~ Mother Angelica

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