Yesterday, May 25, was the memorial of St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi. The Liturgy of the Hours provides us with this brief description of her life: "Born in Florence in 1566, she had a religious upbringing and entered the monastery of the Carmelite nuns there. She led a hidden life of prayer and self-denial, praying particularly for the renewal of the Church and encouraging the sisters in holiness. Her life was marked by many extraordinary graces. She died in 1607."
My own introduction to St. Mary Magdalene came through the Liturgy of the Hours many years ago. The second reading in the Office of Readings for her memorial is from her writings "On Revelation and On Trials." This reading provides us with a profound reflection upon the Holy Spirit, whom she calls "dispenser of the treasures which lay in the lap of the Father, and guardian of the deliberations which pass between the Father and the Son," and ends with this lovely prayer:
My own introduction to St. Mary Magdalene came through the Liturgy of the Hours many years ago. The second reading in the Office of Readings for her memorial is from her writings "On Revelation and On Trials." This reading provides us with a profound reflection upon the Holy Spirit, whom she calls "dispenser of the treasures which lay in the lap of the Father, and guardian of the deliberations which pass between the Father and the Son," and ends with this lovely prayer:
Come, Holy Spirit. Let the precious pearl of the Father and the Word's delight come. Spirit of truth, you are the reward of the saints, the comforters of souls, light in the darkness, riches to the poor, treasure to lovers, food for the hungry, comfort to those who are wandering; to sum up, you are the one in whom all treasurers are contained. Come! As you descended upon Mary, that the Word might become flesh, work in us through grace as you worked in her through nature and grace. Come! Food of every chaste thought, fountain of all mercy, sum of all purity. Come! Consume in us whatever prevents us from being consumed in you.
It's that last line that always cuts through my heart and soul and makes me ask myself: how much do I honestly want to be consumed in and by the Spirit of Jesus, Pentecost Flame?!
There are many articles on the Web about this Carmelite saint. One article at Catholic Online states that St. Mary Magdalene "saw her ecstasies as evidence of a great fault in her, not a reward for holiness." Another article at American Catholic ends with her dying words to her fellow sisters: ""The last thing I ask of you—and I ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—is that you love him alone, that you trust implicitly in him and that you encourage one another continually to suffer for the love of him." Both articles contain excellent information on the nature of true ecstasy.
Two quotes of St. Mary Magdalene that I found out there in cyberspace tell us much about her and her relationship with our Lord Jesus. In one quote, she says that "Our prayer must be humble, fervent, resigned, persevering, and deeply reverent, for we must reflect that we are in the presence of a God and speaking with a Lord before Whom the Angels tremble out of respect and fear." In spite of her familiarity with her Beloved Spouse and her long periods of dryness and desolation, she knew her place before God and rejoiced to be His creature and bride.
In the other quote, St. Mary Magdalene states that "A little drop of simple obedience is worth a million times more than a whole vase of the choicest contemplation." Such obedience is the height of true mystical experience and explains why this wise and holy woman was canonized. Her greatest ecstasy was to do God's will.
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