While reading Angela da Foligno’s memorial, I noticed that a lot of what she said in her steps of repenting her sins showed guilt, pain, and she seemed kind of remorseful. For instance, in steps 8 and 10, she talked about how she became aware of her sins with great pain, and understanding. She stated that God had rescued her from her sins and hell, but that in a way she feel like she crucified him. Angela paints a picture in our minds when she states “….he appeared hanging on the cross. He told me that I should look at his wounds”…” He showed me all that He endured” etc. It was her way of showing us that God had gone through a ton, being sacrificed for her sins, but that she was still reminded of them when he states “All this I endured for you.”
Tag: guilt
Angela da Foligno: Guilt
In this painting, Angela da Foligno is shown holding onto a cross tenderly and revealing the mystic scars on each of her palms. On her face, is a rather guilty expression, which is further explained in The Memorial of Angela da Foligno. She says that at the seventh step of her spiritual development, she was “moved to reflect on the cross” which brought about a lot of pain. During the eighth step, Angela became aware of her sins all over again while looking at the cross, feeling as though she had crucified Jesus herself. I imagine that because the cross serves as a reminder of the sacrifices that Christ made for the betterment of humanity, the guilt that Angela was feeling only increased.
