It’s true, you can find inspiration almost anywhere! St. Angela Merici, for instance, was struck by a powerful vision while resting under a fig tree!
Angela was a teenager living in the quiet town of Desenzano, Italy, in the late 15th century. Orphaned at a young age, Angela found her favorite company in prayerful meditation amongst the beautiful trees of her homeland.
One afternoon, as the story goes, Angela rested beneath a fig tree, perhaps lost in thought or prayer. In that moment of stillness, she experienced a vision that would forever change her life.
She saw a ladder stretching from earth to heaven, with young women dressed in white ascending and descending it. At the top of the ladder stood Christ, calling them upward. Angela didn’t fully understand the vision at first, but it left an indelible mark on her heart.
Over the next few years, Angela prayed with this vision, asking the Lord to reveal the meaning to her.
As her faith deepened and her desire to serve grew, the Lord answered her prayer and the meaning became clear: she was being called to guide young women toward God.
Angela answered the Lord’s call and established the Company of St. Ursula, a group of women dedicated to the Christian education of girls—an extraordinary mission at a time when opportunities for women’s education were scarce.
Her story bears a beautiful resemblance to an incident in the Gospel of John, when Jesus sees Nathanael engaged in quiet reflection under a fig tree. Nathanael is amazed that Jesus knows him, having never met him, and Jesus responds:
“Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”
Our Lord sees and rewards our moments of peaceful prayer in His creation. During a moment of prayer under a fig tree, Our Lord planted in the heart of St. Angela, like He did with St. Nathanael, the seed of a mission that would grow to impact generations. Today, St. Angela Merici is remembered not only for her vision but for her practical response to God’s call.
It just goes to show that even the humblest beginnings—like a fig tree on a quiet afternoon—can lead to extraordinary things.
Today, January 27th, let us be inspired by Angela to see God’s presence in the little things!
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