NV-St Mary Magdalen

NOVENA TO ST. MAGDALEN
Feast Day July 22nd

What is a Novena?
A novena is a traditional devotion consisting of specific prayers recited on nine successive days. Besides being a form of praise, a novena is frequently offered for a particular intention. The first novena took place in the Cenacle, during the nine days preceding Pentecost, or the coming of the Holy Ghost. As a regular popular custom, this practice began in 12th century Christianity and continues to be beneficial today as a way of praying for healing, protection or other blessings for ourselves or others.

This particular novena is prayed to God in honor of St. Mary Magdalen, one of greatest siinners who became one of the greatest saints July 22nd is the feast of St. Mary Magdalen. The purpose of this novena is to try to help us uncover the humility, penitence and charity of St. Mary Magdalen, which led her to live such a humble, penitent, self-effacing, and God-loving life.

In praying this Novena, as in the case of all prayer, it is good to begin by opening ourselves wholeheartedly to God's will, offering a simple act of trust in God's wisdom and in His providential love for us all, that disposes all things for the ultimate benefit of our souls and their salvation, begging also the grace of a sincerere and deep contrition for our sins and a great love of God, which brings about the forgiveness of many sins--an attitude that we find epitomized in St. Mary Magdalen, who should be our model of both humility, compunction and love and gratitude towards God and His incredible metcy.

How to Pray This Novena
This novena is based on upon the life of St. Mary Magdalen as seen in Holy Scripture, in Private Revelation and in the writings of the saints and theologians. Each day of the novena is divided into the following parts:
(1) a quote from Holy Scripture that pertains to St. Mary Magdalen;. (2) an excerpt from the life of St. Joseph taken from a combination of theological authors and private revelation; (3) a Meditation on the readings; (4) a Prayer followed by (5) the mentioning your intention, (6) after which you will pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary; (7) a Closing Prayer.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
SAINT MARY MAGDALEN

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
Saint Mary Magdalen, pray for us.
Sister of Martha and Lazarus, pray for us.
Thou who didst enter the Pharisee's house to anoint the feet of Jesus, pray for us.
Who didst wash His feet with thy tears, pray for us.
Who didst dry them with thy hair, pray for us.
Who didst cover them with kisses, pray for us.
Who wast vindicated by Jesus before the proud Pharisee, pray for us.
Who from Jesus received the pardon of thy sins,
Who before darkness wast restored to light, Mirror of penance, pray for us.
Disciple of Our Lord,
Wounded with the love of Christ, pray for us.
Most dear to the Heart of Jesus, pray for us.
Constant woman, pray for us.
Last at the Cross of Jesus, first at His tomb, pray for us.
Thou who wast the first to see Jesus risen, pray for us.
Whose forehead was sanctified by the touch of the risen Master, pray for us.
Apostle of apostles, pray for us.
Who didst choose the "better part," pray for us.
Who lived for many years in solitude being miraculously fed, pray for us.
Who wast visited by angels seven times a day, pray for us.
Sweet advocate of sinners, pray for us.
Spouse of the King of Glory, pray for us.

V. Saint Mary Magdalen, earnestly intercede for us with thy Divine and Merciful Master,
R. That we may share thy happiness in Heaven.

Let Us Pray
May the glorious merits of blessed Mary Magdalen, we beseech Thee, O Lord, make our offerings accept-able to Thee, for Thine only-begotten Son vouchsafed graciously to accept the humble service she rendered. We ask this through Him Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, God forever and ever. R. Amen.

May the prayers of blessed Mary Magdalen help us, O Lord, for it was in answer to them that Thou didst call her brother Lazarus, four days after death, back from the grave to life, Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, Unity in Trinity, world without end. R. Amen.

FIRST DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: The Sinfulness of St. Mary Magdalen

Holy Scripture
“And [among] certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, [was] Mary, who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth” (Luke 8:2).

The Life of St. Mary Magdalen
The historical figure Mary Magdalen (which means “Mary, from Magdala” ― a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee) was a member of Jesus’ inner circle, and often traveled with Him during the years of His ministry. She is mentioned often in the New Testament Gospels, and is usually distinguished from other women named Mary by being referred by the full name of “Mary Magdalen.” Over time, she has come to represent the relationship of all Christian women to Jesus Christ―a composite archetype that is probably quite different than the original historic person. So long has Mary Magdalen been part of the Christian tradition, that there is no record of when Mary Magdalen was officially declared to be a saint. She is one of the most important and revered of all Christian saints, celebrated by Western and Eastern Catholics alike.

What we know historically of Mary Magdalen comes from the four official Gospels of the New Testament, as well as frequent references in the various gnostic gospels and other historical sources. We know that Mary Magdalen was present during much of Jesus’ ministry and was present during his crucifixion and burial. According to Christian tradition based on the Gospels, Mary was also the first person to witness to Christ’s resurrection from the grave.

In Western Christian tradition, Mary Magdalen is said to have been a former prostitute, or fallen woman, who was redeemed by Jesus’ love and mercy―from whom He cast out seven devils. Writings from Pope St. Gregory I (St. Gregory the Great) in the year 591, refer to Mary Magdalen as a woman of wantonly sinful history. Nevertheless, an extreme veneration of Mary Magdalen has been present in the Church almost from the beginning. Tradition has it that Mary Magdalen traveled to the south of France upon Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, and, upon her own death, a local cult of veneration began that has never waned and is now present worldwide. In the modern Catholic Church, Mary Magdalen represents an easily approachable saint, with whom many believers maintain a steadfast relationship, possibly because of her reputation as a profound sinner who found redemption.

Meditation of St. Peter Julian Eymard (PART ONE)

Saint Mary Magdalen was the privileged friend of Jesus. She served Him with her wealth and accompanied Him everywhere. She honored His humanity magnificently with her gifts. She loved to pray at His feet in the silence of contemplation. For all these reasons she is the patroness and model of a life spent in the adoration and service of Jesus in the Sacrament of His love. Let us study Saint Mary Magdalen; her life is full of the very best lessons.

Jesus loved Martha, her sister Mary, and Lazarus; but especially Mary. Certainly He loved the three of them, but He loved Magdalen with preferential love. Although our Lord loves us all, He nevertheless has His favorite friends, and He allows us also have special friends in God. Friends are a natural and even supernatural need. All the saints had bosom friends, and they themselves were the most affectionate and devoted of friends.

Before her conversion Magdalen was a public sinner. She possessed all the qualities of mind and body and all the gifts of fortune that can lead one to the worst excesses. And she fell into them. The Gospel lowers her to the rank of a public sinner. She was so degraded that Simon the Pharisee felt disgraced when she entered his home. And he even doubted the prophetic power of Jesus because the Master allowed her to remain at His feet.

Prayer of St. Anselm to St. Mary Magdalen
St. Mary Magdalene, you came with springing tears to the Spring of Mercy, Christ; from Him your burning thirst was abundantly refreshed; through Him your sins were forgiven; by Him your bitter sorrow was consoled. My dearest lady,
well you know, by your own life, how a sinful soul can be reconciled with its creator, what counsel a soul in misery needs, what medicine will restore the sick to health. It is enough for us to understand, dear friend of God, to whom were “many sins forgiven, because she loved much”. Most blessed lady, I, who am the most evil and sinful of men [women], do not recall your sins as a reproach, but call upon the boundless mercy by which they were blotted out. This is my reassurance, so that I do not despair; this is my longing, so that I shall not perish. I say this of myself, miserably cast down into the depths of vice, bowed down with the weight of crimes, thrust down by my own hand into a dark prison of sins, wrapped round with the shadows of darkness.

Therefore, since you are now with the chosen, because you are beloved and are beloved because you are chosen of God, I, in my misery, pray to you, in bliss; in my darkness, I ask for light; in my sins, redemption; impure, I ask for purity. Recall in loving kindness what you used to be, how much you needed mercy, and seek for me that same forgiving love that you received when you were wanting it. Ask urgently, that I may have the love that pierces the heart; tears that are humble; desire for the homeland of Heaven; impatience with this earthly exile; searing repentance; and a dread of torments in eternity. Turn, to my good, that ready access that you once had and still have to the Spring of Mercy. Draw me to Him, where I may wash away my sins; bring me to Him, Who can slake my thirst; pour over me those waters that will make my dry places fresh. You will not find it hard to gain all you desire from so loving and so kind a Lord, Who is alive and reigns and is your friend.

For who can tell, beloved and blest of God, with what kind familiarity and familiar kindness He Himself replied, on your behalf, to the calumnies of those who were against you? How He defended you, when the proud Pharisee was indignant, how He excused you, when your sister complained, how highly He praised your deed, when Judas begrudged it. And, more than all this, what can I say, how can I find words to tell, about the burning love with which you sought Him, weeping at the sepulcher, and wept for Him in your seeking? How He came, who can say how or with what kindness, to comfort you, and made you burn with love still more; how He hid from you when you wanted to see Him, and showed Himself when you did not think to see Him; how He was there all the time you sought Him, and how He sought you when, seeking Him, you wept.

But You, most holy Lord, why do You ask her why she weeps? Surely You can see; her heart, the dear life of her soul, is cruelly slain. O love to be wondered at; O evil to be shuddered at; You hung on the wood, pierced by iron nails, stretched out like a thief for the mockery of wicked men; and yet, “Woman!” You say, “Why are you weeping?” She had not been able to prevent them from killing You, but at least she longed to keep Your Body for a while with ointments lest it decay. No longer able to speak with You living, at least she could mourn for You dead. So, near to death and hating her own life, she repeats, in broken tones, the words of life which she had heard from the living. And now, besides all this, even the Body, which she was glad, in a way, to have kept, she believes to have gone. And can You ask her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Had she not reason to weep? For she had seen with her own eyes if she could bear to look what cruel men cruelly did to You; and now all that was left of You from their hands she thinks she has lost. All hope of you has fled, for now she has not even your lifeless body to remind her of You. And someone asks, “Who are you looking for? Why are you weeping?” You, her sole joy, should be the last thus to increase her sorrow. But You know it all well, and thus You wish it to be, for only in such broken words and sighs can she convey a cause of grief as great as hers. The love You have inspired you do not ignore, And indeed You know her well, the Gardener, Who planted her soul in his garden. What You plant, I think You also water. Do you water, I wonder, or do You test her? In fact, You are both watering and putting to the test.

But now, good Lord, gentle Master, look upon Your faithful servant and disciple, so lately redeemed by Your Blood, and see how she burns with anxiety, desiring You, searching all round, questioning, and what she longs for is nowhere found.
Nothing she sees can satisfy her, since You whom alone she would behold, she sees not. What then? How long will my Lord leave his beloved to suffer thus? Have you put off compassion now you have put on incorruption? Did You let go of goodness when You laid hold of immortality? Let it not be so, Lord. You will not despise us mortals now You have made Yourself immortal, for You made yourself a mortal in order to give us immortality.

And so it is; for love’s sake He cannot bear her grief for long or go on hiding Himself. For the sweetness of love He shows Himself who would not for the bitterness of tears. The Lord calls His servant by the name she has often heard and the servant knows the voice of her own Lord. I think, or rather I am sure, that she responded to the gentle tone with which He was accustomed to call, “Mary’. What joy filled that voice, so gentle and full of love. He could not have put it more simply and clearly: “I know who you are and what you want; behold Me; do not weep, behold Me; I am He Whom you seek.” At once the tears are changed; I do not believe that they stopped at once, but where once they were wrung from a heart broken and self-tormenting they flow now from a heart exulting. How different is, “Master!” from “If You have taken Him away, tell me!”; and, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him!” has a very different sound from, “I have seen the Lord, and He has spoken to me!”

But how should I, in misery and without love, dare to describe the love of God and the blessed friend of God? Such a flavor of goodness will make my heart sick. if it has, in itself, nothing of that same virtue. But in truth, You who are very Truth, You know me well and can testify that I write this for the love of Your love, my Lord, my most dear Jesus. I want Your love to burn in me as you command, so that I may desire to love You alone and sacrifice to You a troubled spirit,
“a broken and a contrite heart”. Give me, O Lord, in this exile, the bread of tears and sorrow, for which I hunger more than for any choice delights. Hear me, for Your love, and for the dear merits of Your beloved Mary, and Your blessed Mother, the greater Mary. Redeemer, my good Jesus, do not despise the prayers of one who has sinned against You, but strengthen the efforts of a weakling that loves You. Shake my heart out of its indolence, Lord, and in the ardor of Your love bring me to the everlasting sight of Your glory, where, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, you live and reign, God, for ever. Amen.

(St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, Doctor of the Church; born at Aosta, a Burgundian town, on the confines of Lombardy, Italy, who died on April 21st, 1109).

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
St. Mary Magdalene, woman of many sins, who, by conversion, became the beloved of Jesus; I thank you for your witness that Jesus forgives through the miracle of compassionate love and mercy. You, who already possess eternal happiness in His glorious presence, please intercede for me, so that, some day, I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O dear St. Joseph, all our confidence is in thee. Let it not be said that we would invoke thee in vain; and since thou art so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that thy goodness equals thy power. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
SAINT MARY MAGDALEN

SECOND DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: The Humility of Mary Magdalen

Holy Scripture
“And [among] certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, [was] Mary, who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth” (Luke 8:2).

The Life of St. Mary Magdalen

Three Marys? Two Marys? Or One Mary?
The Greek Fathers, as a whole, and today’s modern scholars, distinguish three persons:
• Mary the “sinner” of Luke 7:36-50;
• Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, Luke 10:38-42 and John 11; and
• Mary Magdalen, from whom seven devils were cast out.

On the other hand most of the Latins (Roman or Western Church) and traditional scholars and exegetes of Scripture, hold that these three were one and the same. It is conceivable that St. John, just because he is writing so long after the event, and at a time when Mary was dead, wishes to point out to us that she was really the same as the “sinner.” In the same way, St. Luke may have veiled her identity, precisely because he did not wish to defame someone who was still living; Luke does something similar in the case of St. Matthew, whom he refrains from identifying as Levi the Publican (5:7), and conceals the fact.

If this argument of the traditional Western Church holds good, then “Mary of Bethany” and the “sinner” are one and the same. Furthermore, an examination of St. John’s Gospel makes it almost impossible to deny the identity of “Mary of Bethany” with “Mary Magdalen”. From St. John we learn the name of the “woman” who anointed Christ’s feet some time prior to the Last Supper, when Christ came to Bethany several days before the Passover. At that supper, then, Mary received the glorious praise of Christ, “she hath wrought a good work upon Me . . . in pouring this ointment upon My body she hath done it for My burial . . . wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached . . . that also which she hath done shall be told for a memory of her.” Can we believe, in view of all this, that this Mary should have no place at the foot of the cross, nor at the tomb of Our Lord? Yet it is Mary Magdalen who, according to all the Evangelists, stood at the foot of the cross and assisted at the burial of Our Lord and was the first recorded witness of the Resurrection. And while St. John calls her “Mary Magdalen” in 19:25, 20:1, and 20:18, he calls her simply “Mary” in 20:11 and 20:16.

In the view we have advocated the series of events forms a consistent whole; the “sinner” comes early in the ministry to seek for pardon; she is described immediately afterwards as Mary Magdalen “out of whom seven devils were gone forth”; shortly after, we find her “sitting at the Lord’s feet and hearing His words.” To the Catholic mind it all seems fitting and natural. At a later period Mary and Martha turn to “the Christ, the Son of the Living God”, and He restores to them their brother Lazarus; a short time afterwards they make Him a supper and Mary once more repeats the act she had performed when a penitent. At the Passion she stands nearby; she sees Him laid in the tomb; and she is the first witness of His Resurrection—except for His Mother, to whom He must have appeared first, though the New Testament is silent on this point.

In the view of many Catholic commentators, there were two anointings of Christ—it should surely be no difficulty that St. Matthew and St. Mark speak of Jesus’ head being anointed by the woman and then later, at another time, the anointing of Jesus’ feet—the first anointing (Luke 7) took place at a comparatively early date; the second, two days before the last Passover. But it was one and the same woman who performed this pious act on each occasion.

Meditation of St. Peter Julian Eymard (PART TWO)

But after having been forgiven, this poor sinful woman was to take her place among the greatest saints. See her at work. Human respect is, more than anything else, what holds back great sinners and prevents them from being converted. “I will not be able to persevere,” they say. “I dare not start what I cannot finish.” And disheartened, they go no further.

But Magdalen learned that Jesus was in Simon’s house. She did not hesitate, but went straight to Jesus and made her confession in public. She dared enter a house from which she would have been shamefully expelled had she been recognized at the door. While at the feet of Jesus, she said not a word; her love spoke audibly enough. Artists have painted her with disheveled hair and disorderly dress; that is all imagination; it would not have been worthy either of Jesus or of her contrition.

She went straight to Jesus without mistaking anyone else for Him. But where had she known Him? Ah! An ailing heart knows well where to find the One that will comfort and cure it! Mary dared not look upon Jesus. She said nothing: true contrition acts that way. Look at the Prodigal Son and at the Publican. The sinner who looks God full in the face after having offended Him insults Him. But Mary wept: she “washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.” Her place is at the feet of Jesus. These feet trod the earth, and she knew she was but the dust of a corpse. The world is extremely fond of beautiful hair; she used hers as a rag.

She remained prostrate on the ground, awaiting her sentence. She heard the remarks made by the envious Apostles and Jews who honored only triumphant and crowned virtue. They did not like Magdalen who was teaching everyone of them a lesson; for everyone of them had sinned, but not one had the courage to ask pardon publicly. Simon himself, bloated with pride and hypocrisy, grew indignant. But Jesus avenged Magdalen. What beautiful words of rehabilitation: “More has been forgiven her because she has loved more …. Thy faith hath made thee safe,” said the Savior to her. “Go in peace.” He did not add: “Sin no more.” Jesus had said this to the adulteress, who was more humiliated for having been caught in the act than repentant for having offended God. But Magdalen had no need of that advice; her love assured Jesus’ of her firm purpose of amendment. What a beautiful and touching absolution! Magdalen must have had a very perfect contrition! When you go to confession, unite yourself to Magdalen and let your contrition, like hers, proceed more from love than from fear.

Magdalen withdrew after having received this baptism of love. By her humility she became more perfect than the Apostles. Ah! Despise sinners now if you dare! One moment is enough to turn them into great saints. How many among the greatest has not Jesus Christ drawn from the mire of sin: Saint Paul, Saint Augustine, and many others! Magdalen opens the way for them; she ascended to the very Heart of God because she started very low and knew how to humble herself. Who then has a right to despair?

Prayer of St. Anselm to St. Mary Magdalen
St. Mary Magdalene, you came with springing tears to the Spring of Mercy, Christ; from Him your burning thirst was abundantly refreshed; through Him your sins were forgiven; by Him your bitter sorrow was consoled. My dearest lady,
well you know, by your own life, how a sinful soul can be reconciled with its creator, what counsel a soul in misery needs, what medicine will restore the sick to health. It is enough for us to understand, dear friend of God, to whom were “many sins forgiven, because she loved much”. Most blessed lady, I, who am the most evil and sinful of men [women], do not recall your sins as a reproach, but call upon the boundless mercy by which they were blotted out. This is my reassurance, so that I do not despair; this is my longing, so that I shall not perish. I say this of myself, miserably cast down into the depths of vice, bowed down with the weight of crimes, thrust down by my own hand into a dark prison of sins, wrapped round with the shadows of darkness.

Therefore, since you are now with the chosen, because you are beloved and are beloved because you are chosen of God, I, in my misery, pray to you, in bliss; in my darkness, I ask for light; in my sins, redemption; impure, I ask for purity. Recall in loving kindness what you used to be, how much you needed mercy, and seek for me that same forgiving love that you received when you were wanting it. Ask urgently, that I may have the love that pierces the heart; tears that are humble; desire for the homeland of Heaven; impatience with this earthly exile; searing repentance; and a dread of torments in eternity. Turn, to my good, that ready access that you once had and still have to the Spring of Mercy. Draw me to Him, where I may wash away my sins; bring me to Him, Who can slake my thirst; pour over me those waters that will make my dry places fresh. You will not find it hard to gain all you desire from so loving and so kind a Lord, Who is alive and reigns and is your friend.

For who can tell, beloved and blest of God, with what kind familiarity and familiar kindness He Himself replied, on your behalf, to the calumnies of those who were against you? How He defended you, when the proud Pharisee was indignant, how He excused you, when your sister complained, how highly He praised your deed, when Judas begrudged it. And, more than all this, what can I say, how can I find words to tell, about the burning love with which you sought Him, weeping at the sepulcher, and wept for Him in your seeking? How He came, who can say how or with what kindness, to comfort you, and made you burn with love still more; how He hid from you when you wanted to see Him, and showed Himself when you did not think to see Him; how He was there all the time you sought Him, and how He sought you when, seeking Him, you wept.

But You, most holy Lord, why do You ask her why she weeps? Surely You can see; her heart, the dear life of her soul, is cruelly slain. O love to be wondered at; O evil to be shuddered at; You hung on the wood, pierced by iron nails, stretched out like a thief for the mockery of wicked men; and yet, “Woman!” You say, “Why are you weeping?” She had not been able to prevent them from killing You, but at least she longed to keep Your Body for a while with ointments lest it decay. No longer able to speak with You living, at least she could mourn for You dead. So, near to death and hating her own life, she repeats, in broken tones, the words of life which she had heard from the living. And now, besides all this, even the Body, which she was glad, in a way, to have kept, she believes to have gone. And can You ask her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Had she not reason to weep? For she had seen with her own eyes if she could bear to look what cruel men cruelly did to You; and now all that was left of You from their hands she thinks she has lost. All hope of you has fled, for now she has not even your lifeless body to remind her of You. And someone asks, “Who are you looking for? Why are you weeping?” You, her sole joy, should be the last thus to increase her sorrow. But You know it all well, and thus You wish it to be, for only in such broken words and sighs can she convey a cause of grief as great as hers. The love You have inspired you do not ignore, And indeed You know her well, the Gardener, Who planted her soul in his garden. What You plant, I think You also water. Do you water, I wonder, or do You test her? In fact, You are both watering and putting to the test.

But now, good Lord, gentle Master, look upon Your faithful servant and disciple, so lately redeemed by Your Blood, and see how she burns with anxiety, desiring You, searching all round, questioning, and what she longs for is nowhere found.
Nothing she sees can satisfy her, since You whom alone she would behold, she sees not. What then? How long will my Lord leave his beloved to suffer thus? Have you put off compassion now you have put on incorruption? Did You let go of goodness when You laid hold of immortality? Let it not be so, Lord. You will not despise us mortals now You have made Yourself immortal, for You made yourself a mortal in order to give us immortality.

And so it is; for love’s sake He cannot bear her grief for long or go on hiding Himself. For the sweetness of love He shows Himself who would not for the bitterness of tears. The Lord calls His servant by the name she has often heard and the servant knows the voice of her own Lord. I think, or rather I am sure, that she responded to the gentle tone with which He was accustomed to call, “Mary’. What joy filled that voice, so gentle and full of love. He could not have put it more simply and clearly: “I know who you are and what you want; behold Me; do not weep, behold Me; I am He Whom you seek.” At once the tears are changed; I do not believe that they stopped at once, but where once they were wrung from a heart broken and self-tormenting they flow now from a heart exulting. How different is, “Master!” from “If You have taken Him away, tell me!”; and, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him!” has a very different sound from, “I have seen the Lord, and He has spoken to me!”

But how should I, in misery and without love, dare to describe the love of God and the blessed friend of God? Such a flavor of goodness will make my heart sick. if it has, in itself, nothing of that same virtue. But in truth, You who are very Truth, You know me well and can testify that I write this for the love of Your love, my Lord, my most dear Jesus. I want Your love to burn in me as you command, so that I may desire to love You alone and sacrifice to You a troubled spirit,
“a broken and a contrite heart”. Give me, O Lord, in this exile, the bread of tears and sorrow, for which I hunger more than for any choice delights. Hear me, for Your love, and for the dear merits of Your beloved Mary, and Your blessed Mother, the greater Mary. Redeemer, my good Jesus, do not despise the prayers of one who has sinned against You, but strengthen the efforts of a weakling that loves You. Shake my heart out of its indolence, Lord, and in the ardor of Your love bring me to the everlasting sight of Your glory, where, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, you live and reign, God, for ever. Amen.

(St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, Doctor of the Church; born at Aosta, a Burgundian town, on the confines of Lombardy, Italy, who died on April 21st, 1109).

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
St. Mary Magdalene, woman of many sins, who, by conversion, became the beloved of Jesus; I thank you for your witness that Jesus forgives through the miracle of compassionate love and mercy. You, who already possess eternal happiness in His glorious presence, please intercede for me, so that, some day, I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O dear St. Joseph, all our confidence is in thee. Let it not be said that we would invoke thee in vain; and since thou art so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that thy goodness equals thy power. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
SAINT MARY MAGDALEN

THIRD DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: From Humility to Love

Holy Scripture
“And [among] certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, [was] Mary, who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth” (Luke 8:2).

The Life of St. Mary Magdalen

Mary Magdalen, so highly praised in the Gospel on account of her heroic conversion and fervent love of our Savior, was born at Bethany, not far from Jerusalem. Her parents, as many authors say, were nobles. She had one brother named Lazarus, and a sister called Martha. When the fortune which her parents had left was divided, the Castle, or as others say, the borough of Magdalum, came into her possession from which she also derived her name.

St. Luke writes that before her conversion, she had been a sinner in the city, by which some authors understand that she had been addicted to the horrible vice of impurity; while others say that she had given scandal to the whole city by her splendid garments, frivolous manners, and her unrestrained associations with those of the opposite sex. The same evangelist also says that Our Lord Jesus Christ delivered her from seven devils, which words many understand literally, believing that on account of her iniquities, she was possessed by several evil spirits, and like many others, was delivered from them by our Savior.

The generality of the holy Fathers, however, believe that Martha had persuaded her sister to be present at the instructions of Christ, and although Magdalen at first followed this advice, only out of curiosity or to please her sister, it nevertheless proved to be the first step to her conversion. It is beyond all doubt that, moved by divine grace, she saw her guilt and resolved to do penance without delay; for, on hearing that Christ was eating with Simon, a Pharisee, she immediately repaired thither. She was unwilling to wait for an opportunity to speak with the Savior alone, and to ask pardon for her sins without others being near. She could not wait so long. The unhappy state into which her soul was plunged, since she had come to the knowledge of her sin, made her impatient. Although foreseeing that her public confession would draw upon her the derision of the Pharisees and others, she heeded not; publicly she had sinned and publicly she would do penance.

Hence, regardless of all human opinion, she hastened into the room where Christ was at table, and bitterly weeping, she cast herself at His feet, bathing them with a flood of repentant tears. Having wiped them with her hair, she kissed them reverentially and then opening a vase of alabaster, which she had brought, she anointed them with perfumes. It is not recorded whether, during or before the anointment, she spoke a single word, but her penitent heart was seen in her humble attitude at the Savior’s feet, and the abundance of her tears spoke more eloquently than words could have done. It spoke of her repentance, it humbly asked pardon for her sins.

Christ well comprehended this language; for, turning His eyes upon her, He said these comforting words: “Thy sins are forgiven thee;” and afterwards: “Thy Faith has made thee safe; go in peace!” Before saying this, He reproved Simon, the Pharisee, and praised Magdalen, because when Simon saw that Christ allowed Magdalen to bathe His feet with her tears and to kiss them, he said to himself: “This man, if He were a prophet, would surely know who and what manner of woman it is that touches Him; for she is a sinner.”

Christ knowing the Pharisee’s thoughts, said to him: “Simon, I have something to say to thee. A certain creditor had two debtors. One of them owed him five hundred pence, the other fifty. As they, however, could not pay him, he forgave them both; which, therefore, of the two, loveth him most?”

“I suppose,” replied Simon, “he to whom he forgave most.”

“Thou has judged rightly,” said Christ; and turning to the woman, He said to Simon: “Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house; thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she bathed my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair. Thou gavest me no kiss; but she has not ceased to kiss my feet. Therefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much.”

Meditation

O what great consolation must have filled Magdalen’s heart, when Christ’s own words assured her that her sins were forgiven! She certainly went immediately to announce to her brother and sister the inexpressibly great mercy which the Savior had bestowed upon her.

From this moment her heart was wholly changed, and entirely consecrated to Christ. She followed Him everywhere and listened with undivided attention to His instructions. One day Christ lodged at the house of her sister Martha, who was greatly concerned to serve Him well, while Magdalen, sitting at the Lord’s feet, listened eagerly to His words.

Her sister complaining of her, said to our Savior: “Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister has left me alone to serve? Speak to her that she help me.” The Lord, however, praised Magdalen’s zeal, saying: “Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and art troubled about many things. But one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her.” These words of the Savior proved how much pleased He was with Magdalen’s eagerness to listen to His holy teaching. He also showed how great His love was to her, when, yielding to her prayers and to Martha’s, He raised Lazarus to life.

This wonderful event is to be found in the Holy Gospel of St. John, chapter 11, and will be more circumstantially described in the life of St. Lazarus. Here I will relate only the event which occurred six days before the last Easter which Our Lord celebrated on Earth. Christ came to Bethany, to the house of Simon, the leper, where they had prepared supper for Him. Lazarus, who had shortly before been raised to life, was, with others, sitting at the table. Martha served, and Magdalen brought a costly sweet-scented ointment, and anointed first the head and then the feet of Christ.

When Judas murmured against it, saying that they could have sold so costly an ointment and given the money to the poor, Christ again defended Magdalen against the deceitful murmurs of the traitor and of some others, and said: “Why do you trouble this woman? For she has wrought a good work upon Me. The poor you have always with you, but Me you have not always. Amen I say to you, wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she has done, shall be told for a memory of her.”

Soon after this, when the passion and death of our dear Lord took place, the Gospel tells us that Magdalen, with the divine Mother and other pious women, was present upon Calvary at the Crucifixion of the Savior. Words are too poor to describe the feelings of grief and tenderness with which she kissed and worshipped the holy body when it was taken from the Cross. Although after the burial, she went to Jerusalem with the other women, she returned to the Sepulcher of Christ, with some other women, on the day after the Sabbath.

It was their intention again to anoint the holy body of the Savior with fragrant essences. On the way, they thought of the impediment which the great stone would be which closed the Sepulcher of the Redeemer. They most probably knew nothing of the guard which Pilate had set thereat the request of the High Priest. “Who will remove the stone from the entrance of the Sepulcher?” said they to each other on the way.

God had removed this obstruction; for, when they arrived at the Sepulcher, they saw that the stone was rolled away and the Sepulcher was open. They went together into it, but found that the body had disappeared. An angel informed them that He, Whom they looked for, had risen, and commanded them to announce it to His disciples. Soon after, Magdalen was blessed with the appearance of the Lord in the form of a gardener, which is more circumstantially related in the Gospel.

There is no doubt that she several times had the grace to see her Divine Master during the forty days He was upon Earth. She was also present when He gloriously ascended to Heaven; after which He, on Pentecost Day, sent the Holy Ghost to His disciples, Apostles, and other faithful followers. As long as Magdalen remained at Jerusalem, she was with the Divine Mother and other pious women

Prayer of the Venerable Mother Mary Magdalen. C.P.

Jesus, my only good and my all! Infinite are the graces that I have received from You, and infinite also are my obligations to You, especially for having delivered me from the Egypt of the world and drawn me to Your Holy House―the Church. Poor creature that I am, what shall I do for You, my Jesus?

I shall ask love, promising to love You always with my whole soul, with my whole heart and above all things. Yes, Jesus, my God and my all, I thank You and I accept the commandment that You have given me to love You, obliging myself from this moment to observe it under vow. Each day my heart experiences more strongly, my Jesus, the necessity to love. Apart from You, every other love is vain. To You, then, my God, from this day forward, I consecrate all my affections and all my aspirations. If for one moment I were to experience any affection that is not entirely Yours, a moment before that, grant that I may die for love of You.

Oh Jesus, the thought of not having loved You always and having offended You at any time afflicts me greatly. The love with which I now desire to love You, which is to love You as much as You deserve to be loved, compensates for the time in which I did not love You. The vow that I now make will be perfected in Heaven, when I shall be compelled by sweet necessity to love You for all eternity.

Accept this vow, my Jesus, which I offer to You through the hands of the most blessed Mary, so that through her intercession it will be pleasing to You and will obtain for me the helps necessary to fulfill it perfectly and to be able one day to die of love in her arms. Amen. Jesus and Mary, bless your Mary Magdalen.

I carry this written on my heart and have the intention of renewing this vow with every beat of my heart, so that the last heartbeat will be an act of love that will carry me to Heaven.

Venerable Mother Mary Magdalen, C.P.

Venerable Mother Mary Magdalen († 1960) was a Passionist nun from Spain and a spiritual writer.

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
St. Mary Magdalene, woman of many sins, who, by conversion, became the beloved of Jesus; I thank you for your witness that Jesus forgives through the miracle of compassionate love and mercy. You, who already possess eternal happiness in His glorious presence, please intercede for me, so that, some day, I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O dear St. Joseph, all our confidence is in thee. Let it not be said that we would invoke thee in vain; and since thou art so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that thy goodness equals thy power. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
SAINT MARY MAGDALEN

FOURTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: Compunction, a Never-Ending Sorrow for Sin

Holy Scripture
“And [among] certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, [was] Mary, who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth” (Luke 8:2).

The Life of St. Mary Magdalen

“And one of the Pharisees [i.e. Simon] desired to eat with Jesus. And Jesus went into the house of the Pharisee, and sat down to meat. And behold a woman that was in the city, a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment; and, standing behind at His feet, she began to wash His feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. And the Pharisee, who had invited Him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying: ‘This Man, if He were a prophet, would know surely who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him, that she is a sinner!’ And Jesus answering, said to him: ‘Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee!’ But he said: ‘Master, say it!’

“Jesus continued: ‘A certain creditor had two debtors, the one who owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And whereas they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which therefore of the two loveth him most?’ Simon answering, said: ‘I suppose that he to whom he forgave most!’ And Jesus said to him: ‘Thou hast judged rightly!’ And turning to the woman, Jesus said unto Simon: ‘Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest Me no water for My feet; but she with tears hath washed My feet, and with her hairs hath wiped them. Thou gavest Me no kiss; but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but she with ointment hath anointed My feet. Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much! But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less!’ And Jesus said to her: ‘Thy sins are forgiven thee!’ And they, that sat at meat with Him, began to say within themselves: ‘Who is this that forgiveth sins also?’ And Jesus said to the woman: ‘Thy faith hath made thee safe, go in peace!’” (Luke 7:36-50).

Meditation

An ailing heart knows well where to find the One that will comfort and cure it! Mary dared not look upon Jesus. She said nothing: true contrition acts that way. Look at the Prodigal Son and at the Publican. The sinner who looks God full in the face after having offended Him insults Him. But Mary wept: she “washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.” Her place is at the feet of Jesus. These feet trod the earth, and she knew she was but the dust of a corpse. The world is extremely fond of beautiful hair; she used hers as a rag.

She remained prostrate on the ground, awaiting her sentence. She heard the remarks made by the envious Apostles and Jews who honored only triumphant and crowned virtue. They did not like Magdalen who was teaching everyone of them a lesson; for everyone of them had sinned, but not one had the courage to ask pardon publicly. Simon himself, bloated with pride and hypocrisy, grew indignant. But Jesus avenged Magdalen. What beautiful words of rehabilitation: “More has been forgiven her because she has loved more …. Thy Faith hath made thee safe,” said the Savior to her. “Go in peace.”

See Magdalen in her suffering love. She went where men were afraid to go; she ascended Calvary; she forsook her dearly loved family; she followed the suffering Lord to the very end. And we find her with Mary at the foot of the Cross. The Gospel mentions her by name, and she certainly deserves it. What was she doing there? She loved and sympathized. A friend wants to share the condition of his friend. Love fuses two lives, two existences into one Magdalen did not stand; she remembered she had been a sinner, and she remained on her knees. Mary alone stood, immolating her dearly beloved Son, her Isaac.

Magdalen stayed there until after the death of Jesus. She returned on the morning of the first day of the week. She knew very well that Jesus was buried; but she wanted still to suffer and to weep. The Gospel praises the zeal of the other women and the magnificence of their gifts; it speaks only of the tears of Magdalen. Those tears come from a never-ending compunction for her past sins. Compunction means "an ever abiding sorrow for sin"—a most valuable and desirable grace! She is the Christian heroine. More than all the saints, Magdalen shows us the immensity of divine mercy.

Pope St. Gregory the Great, in his 33rd Homily on the Gospels on St. Luke’s Gospel, 7:36-50). “At that time, one of the Pharisees desired him to eat with him. And he went into the house of the Pharisee, etc.”

“When I think of the repentance of Mary Magdalene I feel more inclined to weep than to say anything! Is there indeed any man, however stony his heart, who is not somewhat moved to follow the example of her repentance, by the tears of that poor sinful woman? She weighed what she did, and would not that what she did should be niggardly. She came uninvited among the guests, and cast her tears upon the banquet. From that you might have an inkling of her sorrow, by the fact that she was inclined to weep at a feast.

“See how she realized the depth of her own filthiness, and came to be washed to the Well of Mercy, before all them who had been invited to the feast. The bitterness of her interior shame made her esteem it a trivial thing to be despised outwardly. At what, then, do we marvel, my brethren? That she came, or that the Lord welcomed her? Or would it be truer for me to say that He drew her to Himself and welcomed her when she came? For His mercy inwardly drew her, and, when she came, His gentleness openly welcomed her.” (Pope St. Gregory the Great, 33rd Homily on the Gospels on St. Luke’s Gospel, 7:36-50)..

Prayer

St. Gertrude relates that St. Mary Magdalen said to St. Mechtilde: “Whosoever shall give God thanks for all the tears I shed upon the feet of Jesus, our most, merciful God will grant him, through my intercession, remission of all his sins before his death, and a great increase of love to God.”

O Most merciful Jesus, I give Thee thanks for that work of piety which the blessed Mary Magdalen wrought on Thee when she washed thy feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed them and anointed them with fragrant ointment; whereby she obtained from Thee such signal grace that Thou didst pour into her heart and soul so great love of Thee that she could love nothing apart from Thee: beseeching Thee that by her merits and intercessions Thou wouldst vouchsafe to grant me tears of true repentance, and pour into my heart Thy divine love. Amen.

(Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be the Father)

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
St. Mary Magdalene, woman of many sins, who, by conversion, became the beloved of Jesus; I thank you for your witness that Jesus forgives through the miracle of compassionate love and mercy. You, who already possess eternal happiness in His glorious presence, please intercede for me, so that, some day, I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O dear St. Joseph, all our confidence is in thee. Let it not be said that we would invoke thee in vain; and since thou art so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that thy goodness equals thy power. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
SAINT MARY MAGDALEN

FIFTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: Full of Faith

Holy Scripture
“And [among] certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, [was] Mary, who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth” (Luke 8:2).

The Life of St. Mary Magdalen
In the same passage as yesterday, we see the Faith of Mary Magdalen praised by Our Lord:
“And one of the Pharisees [i.e. Simon] desired to eat with Jesus. And Jesus went into the house of the Pharisee, and sat down to meat. And behold a woman that was in the city, a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment; and, standing behind at His feet, she began to wash His feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. And the Pharisee, who had invited Him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying: ‘This Man, if He were a prophet, would know surely who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him, that she is a sinner!’ And Jesus answering, said to him: ‘Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee!’ But he said: ‘Master, say it!’

“Jesus continued: ‘A certain creditor had two debtors, the one who owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And whereas they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which therefore of the two loveth him most?’ Simon answering, said: ‘I suppose that he to whom he forgave most!’ And Jesus said to him: ‘Thou hast judged rightly!’ And turning to the woman, Jesus said unto Simon: ‘Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest Me no water for My feet; but she with tears hath washed My feet, and with her hairs hath wiped them. Thou gavest Me no kiss; but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but she with ointment hath anointed My feet. Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much! But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less!’ And Jesus said to her: ‘Thy sins are forgiven thee!’ And they, that sat at meat with Him, began to say within themselves: ‘Who is this that forgiveth sins also?’ And Jesus said to the woman: ‘Thy faith hath made thee safe, go in peace!’” (Luke 7:36-50).

We also see the Faith of Mary in chapter 11 of St. John’s Gospel (verses 1-45), with her sister and brother—Martha and Lazarus: “Now there was a certain man sick, named Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of Mary and Martha her sister. And Mary was she that anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair: whose brother Lazarus was sick. His sisters therefore sent to Him, saying: ‘Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick!’ And Jesus hearing it, said to them: ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it!’

“Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus. When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He still remained in the same place two days. Then after that, He said to His disciples: ‘Let us go into Judea again!’ The disciples say to Him: ‘Rabbi, the Jews but now sought to stone thee: and goest thou thither again?’ Jesus answered: ‘Are there not twelve hours of the day? If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world: But if he walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.’

“These things He said; and after that He said to them: ‘Lazarus our friend sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep!’ His disciples therefore said: ‘Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well!’ But Jesus spoke of His death; and they thought that He spoke of the repose of sleep. Then therefore Jesus said to them plainly: ‘Lazarus is dead! And I am glad, for your sakes, that I was not there, that you may believe: but let us go to him!’ Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples: ‘Let us also go, that we may die with Him!’ [Thomas said this in the expectation that the enemies of Jesus would apprehend Him and kill Him if He went back into their territory].

“Jesus therefore came, and found that he had been four days already in the grave. Now Bethania was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off. And many of the Jews were come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Martha therefore, as soon as she heard that Jesus had come, went to meet Him: but Mary sat at home.

Martha therefore said to Jesus: ‘Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.’ Jesus saith to her: ‘Thy brother shall rise again!’ Martha saith to Him: I know that he shall rise again, in the resurrection at the last day!’ Jesus said to her: ‘I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, although he be dead, shall live: and every one that liveth, and believeth in Me, shall not die for ever. Believest thou this?’ She saith to Him: Yes, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ the Son of the living God, who art come into this world!’ And when she had said these things, she went, and called her sister Mary secretly, saying: ‘The Master is come, and calleth for thee.’ She, as soon as she heard this, rose quickly, and came to Him. For Jesus was not yet come into the town: but He was still in that place where Martha had met Him.

“The Jews therefore, who were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up speedily and went out, followed her, saying: ‘She goes to the grave to weep there!’ When Mary therefore was come where Jesus was, seeing Him, she fell down at His feet, and said to Him: ‘Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died!’

Meditation

Faith is the spark for Hope! Faith is the foundation of Chairty. If Mary had not believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, then it would have been pointless going to Him in the hope of receiving forgiveness for sin. Likewise, we cannot love what we do not know. Faith gives us that necessary knowledge upon which love can be built.

If Our Lord says of Mary: "Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much! ", then that great love must have had a great faith at its base or foundation.

St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower, would complain that Jesus is so little loved because He is so little known. Is that why we love Jesus so little—because we know very little about Him?

Perhaps we need to spend a little more time each day reading, thinking and even talking about Jesus! That would surely help to ignite in us a love that is more worthy and befitting than the cheap version that languishes lukewarmly in our souls right now!

Prayer

St. Gertrude relates that St. Mary Magdalen said to St. Mechtilde: “Whosoever shall give God thanks for all the tears I shed upon the feet of Jesus, our most, merciful God will grant him, through my intercession, remission of all his sins before his death, and a great increase of love to God.”

O Most merciful Jesus, I give Thee thanks for that work of piety which the blessed Mary Magdalen wrought on Thee when she washed thy feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed them and anointed them with fragrant ointment; whereby she obtained from Thee such signal grace that Thou didst pour into her heart and soul so great love of Thee that she could love nothing apart from Thee: beseeching Thee that by her merits and intercessions Thou wouldst vouchsafe to grant me tears of true repentance, and pour into my heart Thy divine love. Amen.

(Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be the Father)

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
St. Mary Magdalene, woman of many sins, who, by conversion, became the beloved of Jesus; I thank you for your witness that Jesus forgives through the miracle of compassionate love and mercy. You, who already possess eternal happiness in His glorious presence, please intercede for me, so that, some day, I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O dear St. Joseph, all our confidence is in thee. Let it not be said that we would invoke thee in vain; and since thou art so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that thy goodness equals thy power. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
SAINT MARY MAGDALEN

SIXTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: Not Ruled By Human Respect

Holy Scripture
“And [among] certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, [was] Mary, who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth” (Luke 8:2).

The Life of St. Mary Magdalen

Human respect is a killer of Faith and devotion. Holy Scripture says: “God is not a respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34) … “There is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) … “The Lord … is in Heaven; and there is no respect of persons with Him” (Ephesians 6:9).

Whereas Our Lady of Good Success adds: “Cursed human respect, which makes one ask: ‘What will others say about this?’” Mary Magdalen did not worry about human opinion when it came to serving God.

Meditation

That “dying” may take all kinds of shapes and forms. The most common form will be that of dying to the world and its worldly spirit and worldly ambitions and worldly fashions and attitudes. Yet another form, more and more common in these modern times of religious indifference, is having to “die” to human respect which makes us “go along so as to get along” with family, relatives, work colleagues and friends. We are tempted to hide our Faith and shut our mouths to avoid rocking the boat. Yet Our Lord has said: “Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven. But he that shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in Heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). Dying to human respect can be one of the most profitable, yet one of the most painful things we could do.

Our perpetual battle is the one against the blatant lie that tries to tell us that we can have the best of both worlds: that we can live like the rest of the world and also save our souls. Yet, He Who is Truth itself, tells us: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24), while His Apostle, St. James, adds: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

Prayer

St. Gertrude relates that St. Mary Magdalen said to St. Mechtilde: “Whosoever shall give God thanks for all the tears I shed upon the feet of Jesus, our most, merciful God will grant him, through my intercession, remission of all his sins before his death, and a great increase of love to God.”

O Most merciful Jesus, I give Thee thanks for that work of piety which the blessed Mary Magdalen wrought on Thee when she washed thy feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed them and anointed them with fragrant ointment; whereby she obtained from Thee such signal grace that Thou didst pour into her heart and soul so great love of Thee that she could love nothing apart from Thee: beseeching Thee that by her merits and intercessions Thou wouldst vouchsafe to grant me tears of true repentance, and pour into my heart Thy divine love. Amen.

(Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be the Father)

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
St. Mary Magdalene, woman of many sins, who, by conversion, became the beloved of Jesus; I thank you for your witness that Jesus forgives through the miracle of compassionate love and mercy. You, who already possess eternal happiness in His glorious presence, please intercede for me, so that, some day, I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O dear St. Joseph, all our confidence is in thee. Let it not be said that we would invoke thee in vain; and since thou art so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that thy goodness equals thy power. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
SAINT MARY MAGDALEN

SEVENTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: Faithful Follower of Christ

Holy Scripture
“And [among] certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, [was] Mary, who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth” (Luke 8:2).

The Life of St. Mary Magdalen

She Stood by the Cross
“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen” (John 19:25).

No, her devotion didn’t wane. Her love didn’t cool. Even at the cross, heartbroken and devastated, Mary Magdalene stayed right there. Mary witnessed the brutality of the cross and the horrors of the suffering of Christ while most of the disciples were in hiding. She could not walk away. She was compelled to stay because this was where the Christ was—and she had to be with Him.

While the disciples secreted themselves away, the women stayed at the scene. Watching. Suffering. Wondering. Weeping. Nothing could describe the deep sadness of their hearts at the moment Christ breathed His last from the cross of love and yielded His spirit to the Father. Yet there they were, Mary Magdalene among them. The devotion of her heart could not be set aside by the passing of time, by public opinion, by danger, or even threat of death. The love of Christ that had redeemed Mary held her in its wonderful, devoted grip. And even at Christ’s death, that love would not let her go.

She Sat by the Grave
“And Mary Magdalen, and Mary the mother of Joseph, beheld where he was laid” (Mark 15:47).

Nothing could drive Mary Magdalene and the other women from the side of their fallen Lord as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea performed the grim and grisly task of removing the Body of Jesus from the cross. Faithfully they followed the mournful little procession as they made their way from the Place of the Skull to the tomb—purchased by Joseph the Arimathean for his own burial, but now given to the Lord he loved. Sadly they watched as the spices and wrappings were hastily applied in order to try and complete the burial before sundown—and the beginning of Sabbath. Every step of the way, these women were there. Every step of the way, their deep love for Christ overshadowed the danger of publicly identifying themselves with an executed “criminal.”

Every step of the way, she was at His side—yet how tragic. She becomes to us the very image of grief. As the darkness of night deepens to match the darkness of the sorrow in her heart, Mary Magdalene sat by the grave—her heart filled with questions that had no answers. Yet she was faithful in her darkness and confusion!

Meditation

It is very easy for us to overlook the importance of small, routine things that do not seem remarkable at all. It is much more appealing to focus on larger matters that we think have great significance. The problem, of course, is that it is in the seemingly insignificant details of daily life that our true character is formed and revealed. If we overlook the small challenges we encounter each day, we will ignore what matters most.

St. Mary Magdalen, after the Lord had cast seven demons out of her, became one of the women disciples who supported Him, and the Twelve Apostles, from their own resources. (Luke 8:1-3). She remained with the Lord at His crucifixion and was one of the women who saw the stone rolled away and heard from the angel the good news of the resurrection when they went to the tomb early on the morning of Pasch. St. John’s Gospel records that the risen Christ appeared to her as she wept at His empty grave. She was the first to proclaim His resurrection when she told the unbelievably good news to the Apostles that she had actually seen the Lord. (John 20:11-18) Mary Magdalen continued to preach His resurrection for the rest of her life, even to the Roman Emperor Tiberius, to whom she allegedly gave a red egg with the words “Christ is risen!”

St. Mary Magdalen was prepared for her uniquely glorious role as a witness and preacher of the Lord’s resurrection because of her daily faithfulness to the Savior during His earthly ministry. He had set her free from domination by the forces of evil and she then followed Him with deep devotion and fidelity, doing what she could to help Him and the Apostles. The daily details of doing so were surely not glamorous, comfortable, or easy. The Savior had “nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58) and the Apostles left behind their livelihoods, possessions, and families to follow Him. Like them, Mary surely adopted a transient way of life as they faithfully went with Him, from town to town, and shared in the many challenges of the ministry of His mission and work.

In the ultimate time of crisis, when Christ was nailed to the cross and all seemed lost, Mary bravely and faithfully stood by Him as He died. She went to the tomb in the early hours of Sunday morning in order to faithfully do the sad work of anointing His dead body as a final act of love. At the time, those actions probably did not seem like grand gestures that would secure her memory as anyone particularly important. They were simply the acts of faithfulness and love that were still available to her. She sought nothing for herself other than to serve the Savior, even when He was dead and no one expected the tomb to be empty. She did not serve herself at all, but only her Lord. That is how she was made worthy to see and speak with the risen Christ, and then to proclaim the good news to the Apostles.

Throughout the period of her life in which she followed Christ, Mary probably often felt like the disciples when Christ told them they had thousands of people to feed with only five loaves and two fish. They felt greatly inadequate in the face of the needs of a hungry multitude. As a woman who had been possessed by demons and was then following Christ in His itinerant ministry, Mary knew that she was not in charge or at the center of attention. Accomplishing large or impressive goals was surely not her aim. All that she could do was to faithfully offer her seemingly insignificant life to the Lord as best she could, which included supporting His ministry from her resources and learning from Him as she followed along each day, regardless of the challenges.

That is how Mary Magdalen lived her life and became a glorious saint. The Lord did not require her to do something impressive on a grand scale, but only to be faithful to Him each day in the circumstances that she faced. Mary knew that she owed everything to the Lord, Who had delivered her from demons, and then she faithfully offered herself to support Him and the Apostles in their ministry as best she could. And when seemingly small acts of devotion like staying with Christ as He died and then going to the tomb to anoint His dead body enabled her to become the first to witness and proclaim His resurrection, there was surely no one more surprised than Mary Magdalen.

We should learn from her holy and humble example not to ignore, reject, or diminish the importance of the seemingly small opportunities for serving Christ that we have each day. Our lives do not go from one exciting and spectacular adventure to another. Familiar routines and responsibilities fill our days. God calls us to offer ourselves to Him faithfully and fully as we are, not as we fantasize about how we would like our lives to be. Fantasy remains precisely that, an escape from reality. If we do not take advantage of the small opportunities for serving Christ that we encounter each day in unremarkable ways, then we will never truly offer our lives to Him.

The obedience to which the Lord calls us probably will not seem especially noteworthy. Devoting a few minutes each day to prayer and Bible reading, for example, requires only a small offering of our time, energy, and will. The same is true for just about every spiritual discipline of the Christian life, from attending services to fasting, taking Confession, and helping someone in need. We often magnify those offerings in our imagination to the point that we welcome excuses not to make them because we think that they will be so extraordinarily difficult. When we face that temptation, it is helpful to remember that God does not sternly require an exalted level of spiritual perfection in everything that we do. We simply need to offer ourselves to Him as best we can in our daily challenges, such as: holding our tongues when want to speak out of anger and judgment; turning our attention away from entertainment, conversations, and thoughts that inflame our passions; and limiting our self-absorption in order to become sensitive to the needs of others. Likewise, He calls none of us to fulfill every ministry of the Church, but does call us all to use our gifts in strengthening the Body of Christ.

Prayer

St. Gertrude relates that St. Mary Magdalen said to St. Mechtilde: “Whosoever shall give God thanks for all the tears I shed upon the feet of Jesus, our most, merciful God will grant him, through my intercession, remission of all his sins before his death, and a great increase of love to God.”

O Most merciful Jesus, I give Thee thanks for that work of piety which the blessed Mary Magdalen wrought on Thee when she washed thy feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed them and anointed them with fragrant ointment; whereby she obtained from Thee such signal grace that Thou didst pour into her heart and soul so great love of Thee that she could love nothing apart from Thee: beseeching Thee that by her merits and intercessions Thou wouldst vouchsafe to grant me tears of true repentance, and pour into my heart Thy divine love. Amen.

(Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be the Father)

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
St. Mary Magdalene, woman of many sins, who, by conversion, became the beloved of Jesus; I thank you for your witness that Jesus forgives through the miracle of compassionate love and mercy. You, who already possess eternal happiness in His glorious presence, please intercede for me, so that, some day, I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O dear St. Joseph, all our confidence is in thee. Let it not be said that we would invoke thee in vain; and since thou art so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that thy goodness equals thy power. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
SAINT MARY MAGDALEN

EIGHTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: Strong of Heart

Holy Scripture
“And [among] certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, [was] Mary, who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth” (Luke 8:2).

The Life of St. Mary Magdalen

When other disciples were running away in fear, Mary Magdalene stands firm as a steadfast friend and disciple of Jesus in His mission. She stays with Him, witnessing His death on the cross. After remaining with Him in His death, she witnesses His resurrection. In all four Gospels she is identified by name as the first witness of the resurrection. In John 20:1-18, in the tomb’s garden, the Risen Christ calls Mary Magdalene by name, “Mary,” and commissions her as first witness and first apostle to go and announce publicly His resurrection: “Go and tell My brethren….” The meaning of “apostle” is “one sent by God.” Mary Magdalene runs to the disciples, who are in hiding, with the good news of resurrection: “I have seen the Lord!” Then she tells them the things He said to her. The Early Church called her “Apostle to the Apostles.”

Our Lady speaks of Mary Magdalen, saying: “Imitate the fervor of Magdalen in search for her Master, who did not permit herself to be diverted even by the angels, or leave the sepulcher with the others, or rest until she found Him so full of sweetness and kindness. This she also earned by having accompanied me through all the Passion with an ardent and unfaltering heart” (Words of Our Lady to Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).

Meditation

The Gospel shows us Mary Magdalen as a woman who loved powerfully and who wanted to love ever more deeply―only a strong heart is capable of this kind of love. The Gospel also tells us that Jesus had cast out of her seven devils, this suffering led her to Christ, and once she met Him, she never looked back. She realized that her life now only had meaning if she spent it serving God and her brothers and sisters. Freed from her evils, Mary becomes a strong and generous figure before our eyes when, close to the Cross, she offers us a lesson in strength and fortitude―when all of Christ’s Apostles (except John) had fled. And later, when she goes to the tomb of the Crucified One, she refuses to let hope die in the world. What a marvelous disciple of Christ Mary Magdalen was!

“Woman, why are you weeping?” Christ asks her when she comes to the tomb to seek Him and anoint His corpse. Mary Magdalen sought him with a holy passion, with perseverance. The tomb is empty! Mary Magdalen cries, her face bathed in tears. She needs the Master. She has gone there to be consoled a little by being near Him, to keep Him company, because without our Lord nothing is worthwhile. Mary perseveres in prayer; she looks for Him everywhere; she has no other thought but of Him.

At first, Mary doesn’t recognize the Master. But she perseveres in her eagerness to find Him. When she hears her name spoken with the very personal tone that Jesus uses for each of His followers, she recognizes the Savior. And to her is entrusted―the first of the disciples to see the Risen Christ―the first announcement of the resurrection: a message that since then has never ceased to resound in the world. This marvelous responsibility is now passed on to each one of us. How often Our Lord uses other people, to call each of us by our name and to communicate also to us the mission of making Him known to others!

Prayer

St. Gertrude relates that St. Mary Magdalen said to St. Mechtilde: “Whosoever shall give God thanks for all the tears I shed upon the feet of Jesus, our most, merciful God will grant him, through my intercession, remission of all his sins before his death, and a great increase of love to God.”

O Most merciful Jesus, I give Thee thanks for that work of piety which the blessed Mary Magdalen wrought on Thee when she washed thy feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed them and anointed them with fragrant ointment; whereby she obtained from Thee such signal grace that Thou didst pour into her heart and soul so great love of Thee that she could love nothing apart from Thee: beseeching Thee that by her merits and intercessions Thou wouldst vouchsafe to grant me tears of true repentance, and pour into my heart Thy divine love. Amen.

(Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be the Father)

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
St. Mary Magdalene, woman of many sins, who, by conversion, became the beloved of Jesus; I thank you for your witness that Jesus forgives through the miracle of compassionate love and mercy. You, who already possess eternal happiness in His glorious presence, please intercede for me, so that, some day, I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O dear St. Joseph, all our confidence is in thee. Let it not be said that we would invoke thee in vain; and since thou art so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that thy goodness equals thy power. Amen.

LITANY IN HONOR OF
SAINT MARY MAGDALEN

NINTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)

Theme: From Sinner to Saint

Holy Scripture
“And [among] certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, [was] Mary, who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth” (Luke 8:2).

The Life of St. Mary Magdalen

“And one of the Pharisees desired Jesus to eat with him. And Jesus went into the house of the Pharisee, and sat down to meat. And behold a woman that was in the city, a sinner, when she knew that He sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment; and, standing behind at His feet, she began to wash His feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. And the Pharisee, who had invited Him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying: ‘This man, if he were a prophet, would know surely who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, that she is a sinner!’ And Jesus, answering, said to him: ‘Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee!’ But he said: ‘Master, say it!’ Jesus said: ‘A certain creditor had two debtors, the one who owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And whereas they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which therefore of the two loveth him most?’ Simon answering, said: ‘I suppose that he to whom he forgave most!’ And Jesus said to him: ‘Thou hast judged rightly! And, turning to the woman, He said unto Simon: ‘Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest Me no water for My feet; but she, with tears, hath washed My feet and with her hairs hath wiped them! Thou gavest Me no kiss; but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss My feet! My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but she, with ointment, hath anointed My feet. Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less!’ And Jesus said to her: ‘Thy sins are forgiven thee!’ And they, that sat at meat with Him, began to say within themselves: ‘Who is this that forgiveth sins also?’ And Jesus said to the woman: ‘Thy faith hath made thee safe! Go in peace!’” (Luke 7:36-50)

“Now the publicans and sinners drew near unto Jesus to hear Him. And the Pharisees and the Scribes murmured, saying: ‘This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them!’ And He spoke to them this parable, saying: ‘What man of you that hath an hundred sheep: and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing, and, coming home, call together his friends and neighbors, saying to them: “Rejoice with me! Because I have found my sheep that was lost!” I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in Heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance!’” (Luke 15:1-7).

Meditation

The model for Christians are Jesus and Mary, His Mother―thus making and setting the high ideal that a Christian should be someone who has never fallen, never sinned. But Jesus and Mary are the two exceptions to the rule. As for the rest of us, “all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). All of us — Catherine of Siena and Thérèse of Lisieux; Padre Pio and Jean Vianney; Bartolo Longo and Paul of Tarsus, every saint of the Church, every sinner in the Church, every human being from the time of Adam and Eve to our own (save the two exceptions of Jesus and Mary) have sinned. It is only by the Divine Mercy, by God's merciful grace sent through Jesus, that our sins are forgiven and glory restored.

St. Augustine―another sinner turned saint―said: “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” Centuries later, the playwright, Oscar Wile, also quoted that line. Wilde certainly knew what he was talking about. As his biographer Joseph Pearce describes in The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, Wilde was a notorious hedonist (pleasure seeker), known for any number of debaucheries — indeed, he fully lived up to his name―Wilde by name and wild by nature. Towards the end of his life, Wilde was jailed on charges of sodomy. Yet he entered the Catholic Church by converting on his deathbed.

“Wilde had a lifelong love affair with the Catholic Church,” says Pearce. “His art is always overtly moral and the morality is overtly Catholic in nature. He is a timeless Christian writer.” Wilde's deathbed conversion is not somehow reduced by his life, but magnified by it.

“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” Mary Magdalen as she has been traditionally remembered is perhaps the greatest example of this truth in the Christian heritage. She “had a past,” and then she met Christ, who opened the way into a future of sanctity, of life in the Spirit and eternal joy. She was once a sinner, and then she encountered her Savior — just like every other Christian, except the Queen of us all, who was saved in the highest and most perfect way by being preserved from the slightest stain of sin from the moment of her conception.

But the rest of us have not been immaculately conceived. Most of us must live the daily dying to self for a long time before ever we reach the heights of holiness. We need Mary Magdalen, the sinner made saint, just as much as we need Our Lady's model of spotless purity. We need to have the hope of the Magdalen so that, even when we are in the depths, in the valley of the shadow of death, we can still cry out to the Lord and be saved (Psalm 130:1-2; 23:4). We need the model of the woman who was forgiven much, and so loved much (Luke 7:47), since “Faith, Hope, Charity remain, these three; but the greatest of these is Charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

We especially need the model of the prostitute turned penitent, of the woman who had been exploited and used until she found in Jesus the man who would never abuse her, the God who would not condemn her but rather raise her up to everlasting life. We need an icon of hope for the trapped, the trafficked, the sinful and sorrowful in this vale of tears. In an age of objectification and a rising tide of online pornography, when people are reduced to sources of pleasure, the powerless bought and sold for the gratification of greed and lust, when the world slides as far into darkness as any age we have ever known, we need the hope offered by a repentant sinner turned saint. We need someone who has been there at the heart of darkness, who turned again to God and was saved.

What does it say to the prostitutes that we dare not call Mary Magdalen a prostitute, for such a thing would invalidate her witness of the Resurrection? What does it say to those coming out of lives of exploitation and abuse that the saint who once would have been their model and guide now cannot have had a past like theirs if she is to be an icon of femininity in Christianity? What does it mean for us as a Church that we believe that Mary Magdalen cannot have been one of those living on the margins if she is to be empowering for women? What could be more empowering to women — to us all — than a saint who says, “No matter what you've done, no matter what you've been, no matter what they've done to you, come to Jesus as I did. Come to the One who is Love and Life Everlasting — there is a place for you in His Heart. I know — there was a place in His Heart for me.” As Our Lord said to one of His mystics: “The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy.”

So on this memorial of St. Mary Magdalen, let us ask her prayers for those under her patronage, such as penitent sinners, reformed prostitutes, and those struggling with sexual temptation. Let us pray in reparation for our sins of the flesh and the sins of others―especially those who profit from the pornography industry or sex trafficking and damn many souls thereby. Let us intercede for those enslaved to addictions or forced to sell themselves to satisfy the greed and lust of others. Let us go out with our prayer to the marginalized, those deepest in darkness, those most in need, as Jesus calls us to do, and help draw the lost sheep, the people in darkness, into great light. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost!” (Luke 19:10).

Prayer

St. Gertrude relates that St. Mary Magdalen said to St. Mechtilde: “Whosoever shall give God thanks for all the tears I shed upon the feet of Jesus, our most, merciful God will grant him, through my intercession, remission of all his sins before his death, and a great increase of love to God.”

O Most merciful Jesus, I give Thee thanks for that work of piety which the blessed Mary Magdalen wrought on Thee when she washed thy feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed them and anointed them with fragrant ointment; whereby she obtained from Thee such signal grace that Thou didst pour into her heart and soul so great love of Thee that she could love nothing apart from Thee: beseeching Thee that by her merits and intercessions Thou wouldst vouchsafe to grant me tears of true repentance, and pour into my heart Thy divine love. Amen.

(Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be the Father)

[Mention Intention]

Pray:
St. Mary Magdalene, woman of many sins, who, by conversion, became the beloved of Jesus; I thank you for your witness that Jesus forgives through the miracle of compassionate love and mercy. You, who already possess eternal happiness in His glorious presence, please intercede for me, so that, some day, I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.

Then say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O dear St. Joseph, all our confidence is in thee. Let it not be said that we would invoke thee in vain; and since thou art so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that thy goodness equals thy power. Amen.