Feast of Our Patroness

Happy Feast of Mary Magdalene. May she continue to bless us sisters, our readers, and our families!

Photo from the cover of this month's Magnificat. Found here.

Loves by Scott Cairns

I was introduced to the poet Scott Cairns by a friend and classmate of Julian's who is undergoing a dangerous surgery today. We'd love it, if you can, to say a quick prayer for him, his wife, his surgeons, and his family.



Magdalen’s Epistle
from Loves by Scott Cairns (via)

Of Love’s discrete occasions, we
observe sufficient catalogue,
a likely-sounding lexicon


pronounced so as to implicate
a wealth of difference, where reclines
instead a common element,


itself quite like those elements
partaken at the table served
by Jesus on the night he was


betrayed—like those in that the bread
was breakable, the wine was red
and wet, and met the tongue with bright,


intoxicating sweetness, quite
like ... wine. None of what I write arrives
to compromise that sacrament,


the mystery of spirit graved
in what is commonplace and plain—
the broken, brittle crust, the cup.


Quite otherwise, I choose instead
to bear again the news that each,
each was still itself, substantial


in the simplest sense. By now, you
will have learned of Magdalen, a name
recalled for having won a touch


of favor from the one we call
the son of man, and what you’ve heard
is true enough. I met him first


as, mute, he scribbled in the dust
to shame some village hypocrites
toward leaving me unbloodied,


if ill-disposed to taking up
again a prior circumstance.
I met him in the house of one


who was a Pharisee and not
prepared to suffer quietly
my handling of the master’s feet.


Much later, in the garden when,
having died and risen, he spoke
as to a maid and asked me why


I wept. When, at any meeting
with the Christ, was I not weeping?
For what? I only speculate


—brief inability to speak,
a weak and giddy troubling near
the throat, a wash of gratitude.


And early on, I think, some slight
abiding sense of shame, a sop
I have inferred more recently


to do without. Lush poverty!
I think that this is what I’m called
to say, this mild exhortation


that one should still abide all love’s
embarrassments, and so resist
the new temptation—dangerous,


inexpedient mask—of shame.
And, well, perhaps one other thing:
I have received some little bit


about the glib divisions which
so lately have occurred to you
as right, as necessary, fit


That the body is something less
than honorable, say, in its
... appetites? That the spirit is


something pure, and—if all goes well—
potentially unencumbered
by the body’s bawdy tastes.


This disposition, then, has led
to a banal and pious lack
of charity, and, worse, has led


more than a few to attempt some
soul-preserving severance—harsh
mortifications, manglings, all


manner of ritual excision
lately undertaken to prevent
the body’s claim upon the heart,


or mind, or (blasphemy!) spirit—
whatever name you fix upon
the supposéd bodiless.


I fear that you presume—dissecting
the person unto something less
complex. I think that you forget


you are not Greek. I think that you
forget the very issue which
induced the Christ to take on flesh.


All loves are bodily, require
that the lips part, and press their trace
of secrecy upon the one


beloved—the one, or many, endless
array whose aspects turn to face
the one who calls, the one whose choice


it was one day to lift my own
bruised body from the dust, where, it seems
to me, I must have met my death,


thereafter, this subsequent life
and late disinclination toward
simple reductions in the name


of Jesus, whose image I work
daily to retain. I have kissed
his feet. I have looked long


into the trouble of his face,
and met, in that intersection,
the sacred place—where body


and spirit both abide, both yield,
in mutual obsession. Yes,
if you’ll recall your Hebrew word.


just long enough to glimpse in its
dense figure power to produce
you’ll see as well the damage Greek


has wrought upon your tongue, stolen
from your sense of what is holy,
wholly good, fully animal—


the body which he now prepares.

Musings.

Well, thanks for your prayers. I am back safe and sound from Paris, and I miss it already. Maybe it is because my ancestors are European, or maybe it is because I needed a retreat from my routine, but the three days abroad refreshed my soul and spirit. I already feel a tangible propensity toward anxiety now that I am back in my routine of grading, answering emails, and responding to demands at work. The time away allotted me several sweet moments with the Lord and with myself that I didn't know I needed. God is indeed very generous.

I will tell you that our beloved patroness is to be found everywhere in Paris. Just when I thought I had seen the last of her, Mary Magdalene showed up in all of her glory. It was a reminder to me not only to pray for my two sisters on this blog, but that the Lord was looking out for me, and is looking out for me, in my life in the present moment. He is so good and generous to appear to us in His creation, most notably the saints. I found Magdalene in Versailles, possibly on the facade of Notre Dame (though I'm still trying to confirm this), and in the Louvre, respectively.

I also ask you to pray for the respose of the soul of my family's very dear, dear friend. She passed away on Monday night after a battle with ALS. This woman was so supportive of me at very critical times in my college experience as well as a good friend to my brother, mother, and father at different points in their lives. For the blessing of friends, Lord, I praise you.

May the souls of faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Notre Dame, pray for us.

Happy Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

PRAYER TO SAINT MARY MAGDALENE
Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

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.


Wishing you, our dear readers, all the best this feast! We thank you for your prayers and support, and for being a part of this community!

Magdalenas!

Did you know our patron, who's feast is today, has a cake named after her. "Magdalenas" are golden spanish tea cakes. By all accounts they are rich and yet light and fluffy. They are thought to have originated in Aragon, and they are eaten with coffee at breakfast. And are surprisingly easy to make:

4 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 4 oz. stick unsalted butter
1 2/3 cups unbleached white flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
zest from 1 lemon
1 Tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Centigrade). Measure 1/4 cup sugar into small bowl and set aside.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat the eggs with 3/4 cup sugar. Beat until the mixture is light.

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter on medium on the stove top. Or, melt it in the microwave. Make sure that the butter cools slightly and is not bubbling. As you continue to beat the egg mixture, slowly pour in the melted butter, making sure to mix thoroughly. Stir in the lemon zest and milk.

Measure out the flour into a separate bowl. Add the baking powder to the flour and mix thoroughly.

While stirring the egg mixture, add in the flour mixture. Continue to stir until all ingredients are mixed well. The batter will be very thick.

Place paper liners in to cupcake pan. Use a large serving spoon to spoon batter into pan, filling each one half full. Batter will more than double in size when baked. Use a teaspoon to sprinkle each magdalena with a bit of the reserved sugar.

Place pans on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until magdalenas have turned a golden color. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before taking out of the pan to cool further.

(HT: Recipe and Photo.)

Magdalene in Art: Stained Glass

From St. Louis Betrand Parish, Louisville KY.

Sacred Made Real

As Edith mentioned yesterday, right now the three of us are FINALLY all together in Washington. This two week stint has been a lot of fun--encouraging, edifying, and rather silly. Last weekend we took the time to visit a remarkable exhibit here in Washington, called The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture, 1600-1700.

The exhibit is small--less than 30 pieces. (The London Exhibit was twice as large.) There are as many pieces of sculpture as there are paintings; the sculpture is a special poly-chrome sculptures: painted wood, life size (for the most part) and active. I don't know how else to describe it--like all baroque art there is a tremendous amount of motion in these statues. We catch St. Francis just as he is raised in ecstasy, and Christ, covered in sores, bruises and blood, approach the throne of Pilate.

Each piece was stunning, and there was much debate about which was the best. But, I'm certain, we all fondly recall this statue of Magdalene. It was a total surprise, and the three of us stood in front of it for a good 30 seconds, together. I know I was praying for each of them, and it was so good to stand by their side, captivated, and lost in wonder.

The Litany of St. Mary Magdalene

Magdalene's Tibia

In honor of the completion of our novena to St. Mary Magdalene, and in thanksgiving for the incredible grace offered to us in the chance to honor her relics, we wanted to post this Litany of St. Mary Magdalene. Pray it with us, and thanks for saying this novena with us too.

The Litany of St. Mary Magdalen

For Private Use Only.

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.
St. 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,
Pray for us.
Who before darkness wast restored to light,
Pray for us.
Mirror of penance,
Pray for us.
Disciple of Our Lord,
Pray for us.
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 thy 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 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 acceptable 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.

Magdalene Novena: Day 9

Meditation: John, chapter 20: 11-18


But Mary stood at the sepulchre without, weeping. Now as she was weeping, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And she saw two angels in white, sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid. They say to her: Woman, why weepest thou? She saith to them: Because they have taken away my Lord; and I know not where they have laid him. When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing; and she knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith to her: Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, thinking it was the gardener, saith to him: Sir, if thou hast taken him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

Jesus saith to her: Mary. She turning, saith to him: Rabboni (which is to say, Master). Jesus saith to her: Do not touch me, for I am not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren, and say to them: I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalen cometh, and telleth the disciples: I have seen the Lord, and these things he said to me.

Benedict XVI, July 23, 2007 General Audience

The story of Mary of Magdala reminds us all of a fundamental truth: a disciple of Christ is one who, in the experience of human weakness, has had the humility to ask for his help, has been healed by him and has set out following closely after him, becoming a witness of the power of his merciful love that is stronger than sin and death.

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

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.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

---- ---- ----
View the full itinerary of the Relic of Mary Magdalene here.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

To find out more about our reasons for saying this novena, or to submit prayer requests and follow the progress of the novena click here

Magdalene Novena: Day 8

Magdalene Approaching the Tomb by Giovanni Savoldo, 1530

MeditationPope St. Gregory the Great, Office of Readings for July 22

When Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body, she thought it had been taken away and so informed the disciples. After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text then says: The disciples went back home, and it adds: but Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb.

We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found, and while she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him. For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth tells us: Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved.

At first she sought but did not find, but when she persevered it happened that she found what she was looking for. When our desires are not satisfied, they grow stronger, and becoming stronger they take hold of their object. Holy desires likewise grow with anticipation, and if they do not grow they are not really desires. Anyone who succeeds in attaining the truth has burned with such a great love. As David says: My soul has thirsted for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God? And so also in the Song of Songs the Church says: I was wounded by love; and again: My soul is melted with love.


Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? She is asked why she is sorrowing so that her desire might be strengthened; for when she mentions whom she is seeking, her love is kindled all the more ardently.


Jesus says to her: Mary. Jesus is not recognized when he calls her “woman”; so he calls her by name, as though he were saying: Recognize me as I recognize you; for I do not know you as I know others; I know you as yourself. And so Mary, once addressed by name, recognizes who is speaking. She immediately calls him rabboni, that is to say, teacher, because the one whom she sought outwardly was the one who inwardly taught her to keep on searching.

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

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.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

---- ---- ----
View the full itinerary of the Relic of Mary Magdalene here.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

To find out more about our reasons for saying this novena, or to submit prayer requests and follow the progress of the novena click here

Magdalene Novena: Day 7

Christ on the Cross with Mary Magdalene by Luca Signorelli (1450-1523)
Meditation:
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene --John 19:25

There she stands now, together with the other women, including the Mother of the Lord. Through her own vocation and as a result of carrying her Child, his Mother knows that she must never stop accompanying her Son. She will always be the Son's Mother. Magdalene's case is quite different. There was no consultation and no step-by-step negotiation.

The paths of both women meet at the Cross. And what is humanly opaque in Magdalene's destiny -- things spread by way of rumor, things that many people can neither believe nor understand -- is deeply known by the Mother of the Lord as she stands there. She suffers, she suffers the most searing pain, but her suffering is secure within her consent, her surrender, her will to go with him.

If Magdalene alone had been placed in front of the Cross, she might not have been able to find in it the answer to her life's question: "Why and for what purpose has the Lord rescued me and called me to follow him?" The Cross might have been terrible, so meaningless to her, as to awaken in her a raging madness. But now she is not alone as she looks up tot he Lord who hangs before her; she can also look at his Mother, suffering beside her, and in her suffering, still uttering her yes of affirmation.

--Three Women and the Lord by Adrienne von Spyer

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

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.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

---- ---- ----
View the full itinerary of the Relic of Mary Magdalene here.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

To find out more about our reasons for saying this novena, or to submit prayer requests and follow the progress of the novena click here

Magdalene Novena: Day 6

The Repentant Magdalene by Dominico Feti, 1617-21
Meditation:

O woman of the gleaming hair,
(Wild hair that won men's gaze to thee)
Weary thou turnest from the common stare,
For the shuiler Christ is calling thee.

O woman of the snowy side,
Many a lover hath lain with thee,
Yet left thee sad at the morning tide,
But thy lover Christ shall comfort thee.

O woman with the wild thing's heart,
Old sin hath set a snare for thee:
In the forest ways forspent thou art
But the hunter Christ shall pity thee.

O woman spendthrift of thyself,
Spendthrift of all the love in thee,
Sold unto sin for little pelf,
The captain Christ shall ransom thee.

O woman that no lover's kiss
(Tho' many a kiss was given thee)
Could slake thy love, is it not for this
The hero Christ shall die for thee?

--Song for Mary Magdalene, by Patrick Pearse

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

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.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

---- ---- ----
View the full itinerary of the Relic of Mary Magdalene here.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

To find out more about our reasons for saying this novena, or to submit prayer requests and follow the progress of the novena click here

Magdalene Novena: Day 5

Christ in the House of Simon by Deric Bouts, 1464-1475
Meditation: Luke 7: 41-50

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 he 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 he 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 he said to the woman: Thy faith hath made thee safe, go in peace.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, The Life of Christ, Chapter 12, pp. 125-126

Her faith told her that God loves purity, goodness, and holiness. And before her stood He Who alone could restore her to that holiness. But the price He would pay for that peace could come only after a war -- the war against evil. The forgiveness the woman received was not merely that of being 'let off'; but it was one in which justice itself was satisfied. . . . The woman before Him had her debt of sin blotted out, but she had [yet] no idea how much it cost Him.

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

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.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

---- ---- ----
View the full itinerary of the Relic of Mary Magdalene here.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

To find out more about our reasons for saying this novena, or to submit prayer requests and follow the progress of the novena click here

Magdalene Novena: Day 4

St. Mary Magdalene by the hand of Paul Drozdowski


Meditation: Song of Songs 3: 1b-3

I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, and found him not. I will rise, and will go about the city: in the streets and the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, and I found him not. The watchmen who keep the city, found me: Have you seen him, whom my soul loveth?

St. John Chrysostom, Homily on St. Matthew's Gospel #88

"And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre." For what purpose do these wait by it? As yet they knew nothing great, as was meet, and high about Him, wherefore also they had brought ointments, and were waiting at the tomb, so that if the madness of the Jews should relax, they might go and embrace the body. Do you see women's courage? Do you see their affection? Do you see their noble spirit in money? Their noble spirit even unto death? Let us men imitate the women; let us not forsake Jesus in temptations. For they for Him even dead spent so much and exposed their lives.

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

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.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

---- ---- ----
View the full itinerary of the Relic of Mary Magdalene here.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

To find out more about our reasons for saying this novena, or to submit prayer requests and follow the progress of the novena click here

Madgalene Novena: Day 3

Mary and Martha by Caravaggio, 1598
Meditation: Luke 10: 38-42

Now it came to pass as they went, that he entered into a certain town: and a certain woman named Martha, received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sitting also at the Lord's feet, heard his word. But Martha was busy about much serving. Who stood and said: Lord, hast thou no care that my sister hath left me alone to serve? speak to her therefore, that she help me.

And the Lord answering, said to her: Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and art troubled about many things: But one thing is necessary. Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her.

St. Teresa of Avilà, The Interior Castle VII: 4

He said that Mary had chosen the better part. The answer is that she had already performed the task of Martha, pleasing the Lord by washing His feet and drying them with her hair. Do you think it would be a small mortification for a woman of nobility like her to wander through these streets (and perhaps alone because her fervent love made her unaware of what she was doing) and enter a house she had never entered before and afterward suffer the criticism of the Pharisee and the very many other things she must have suffered? . . . I tell you sisters, the better part came after many trials and much mortification . . . the many trials that afterward she suffered in the death of the Lord and in the years that she subsequently lived in His absence must have been a torment. You see she wasn’t always in the delight of contemplation at the feet of the Lord.

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

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.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

---- ---- ----
View the full itinerary of the Relic of Mary Magdalene here.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

To find out more about our reasons for saying this novena, or to submit prayer requests and follow the progress of the novena click here

Magdalene Novena: Day 2

Magdalene, by Bernini, 1661 (Image Source)
Meditation:Three Women and the Lord by Adrienne von Spyer

At some point in the Gospel we come across the name of Mary Magdalene for the first time. The very occurrence of a name in the Gospel indicates a connection with the Lord, whether the person referred to has come to believe in the Lord or was simply the occasion for some action on Jesus’ part; even in opposing the Lord or falling away, the person concerned points to him. There is a kind of ruthlessness in the way Scripture portrays even the most intimate disciples of the Lord, indicating the Lord’s divinity more directly, perhaps, than anything else. God alone can appropriate men in such a way, can deal thus with their destiny, their reputation, their dignity, revealing them like exhibits to the Church and the world. The Lord balances this ruthlessness with his redeeming love. Here is it Magdalene who is exposed to the public gaze in this way. She is described once and for all as the disciple out of whom the Lord drove seven demons.

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

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.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

---- ---- ----
View the full itinerary of the Relic of Mary Magdalene here.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

To find out more about our reasons for saying this novena, or to submit prayer requests and follow the progress of the novena click here

Magdalene Novena: Day 1

The Repentant Magdalene, by Georges de la Tour, 1640
Meditation: Song of Solomon: 1: 1-7

Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth!
More delightful is your love than wine!

Your name spoken is a spreading perfume-
that is why the maidens love you.

Draw me!-
We will follow you eagerly!
Bring me, O king, to your chambers.
With you we rejoice and exult,
we extol your love; it is beyond wine:
how rightly you are loved!

I am as dark-but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem-
As the tents of Kedar,
as the curtains of Salma.

Do not stare at me because I am swarthy,
because the sun has burned me.
My brothers have been angry with me;
they charged me with the care of the vineyards:
my own vineyard I have not cared for.

Tell me, you whom my heart loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you give them rest at midday,
Lest I be found wandering
after the flocks of your companions.

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

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.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

---- ---- ----
View the full itinerary of the Relic of Mary Magdalene here.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

To find out more about our reasons for saying this novena, or to submit prayer requests and follow the progress of the novena click here

Novena to St. Mary Magdalene

Noli Me Tangere, by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence (1425-1430).

Dear Friends, Family, Readers, Sisters:

As Edith mentioned earlier this month, a relic of St. Mary Magdalene arrived on North American soil, for the first time ever, escorted by a French Dominican. The relic is Magdalene's tibia, a bone of the leg, which knelt before the Risen Lord, as the first witness to the Resurrection.

The national press release traces the history of this relic:

A letter of authentication from Bishop Rey reports that the relics were hidden at the time of the Saracen invasions and rediscovered in 1279, and have been venerated without interruption ever since...For centuries the relics were missing - disappearing from about 710 A.D. when the Saracens pillaged the South of France and the Church hid sacred objects to safeguard them. Then in 1279, they were discovered by Charles II of Anjou in a crypt of a chapel in the town of St. Maximin in a sarcophagus that did not have her name but that contained a piece of old parchment dated 710 A.D., that said, 'Here lies the body of Mary Magdalene.'

Upon discovering the bones, Charles II sealed the crypt and gathered all the Bishops for an official opening and inspection. All of the bones including the skull were found intact. The only missing bone was the lower jaw bone which was later found and identified by the Pope as the same jawbone that had been venerated, for centuries, as the jawbone of Mary Magdalene, at Saint John Lateran Church in Rome.

The relic is travelling around the South and the East Coast; tomorrow it will be in New Orleans, where Edith can visit her, and on November 8th it will be in Washington, DC, where Julian and Agatha will venerate her relics.

This is a joyous occasion for all of us, but we are especially moved by the Providence which unites us, the Magdalene Sisters, in honoring our patron. There are hundreds of cities she could visit, but, by the grace of God, she is coming to ours!

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In honor of this, and to reaffirm our commitment to pursuing God's will in our lives, the Magdalene Sisters will be saying a novena over the course of the next nine days, to St. Mary Magdalene. Every day we will post one meditation of St. Mary Magdalene--be it a scripture verse, or writings from the Church Fathers, etc.--and conclude with the following prayer:

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

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.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

Please join us in this novena, as we pray for St. Mary Magdalene's courage, conviction, abandonment to the will of God, and overwhelming passion for Our Lord.

Please feel free to leave comments with your intentions, so that we may take them before St. Mary Magdalene, and present them to her, hoping for her intercession. You may remain anonymous in your request.

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View the full itinerary here.

St. Anthony of Padua Church
4640 Canal St.
New Orleans, LA
Saturday Oct 31st: Veneration -- all day until 6 p.m.; Masses: 8:15 a.m. and 4 p.m.; Lectures: 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Sunday Nov 1st: Veneration -- all day until 6 p.m.; Masses: 7:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.; Lectures: 10:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Dominican House of Studies
487 Michigan Ave, N.E.
Washington, DC
Sunday, November 8th: Mass: 11:15 a.m.; Public Veneration: 12:30 - 5:20 p.m.; Rosary: 5:20 p.m.; Vespers: 5:40 p.m.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

You can follow the progress of the novena by clicking here.

Sermon on Mary Magdalene

In our continued celebration of the Feast of St. Mary Magdalane (July 22nd), I want to share with you the full Sermon of Pope St. Gregory the Great, read ont eh feast of St. Mary Magdalene, in the Divine Office:

When Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body, she thought it had been taken away and so informed the disciples. After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text then says: The disciples went back home, and it adds: but Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb.

We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found, and while she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him. For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth tells us: Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved.

At first she sought but did not find, but when she persevered it happened that she found what she was looking for. When our desires are not satisfied, they grow stronger, and becoming stronger they take hold of their object. Holy desires likewise grow with anticipation, and if they do not grow they are not really desires. Anyone who succeeds in attaining the truth has burned with such a great love. As David says: My soul has thirsted for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God? And so also in the Song of Songs the Church says: I was wounded by love; and again: My soul is melted with love.

Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? She is asked why she is sorrowing so that her desire might be strengthened; for when she mentions whom she is seeking, her love is kindled all the more ardently.

Jesus says to her: Mary. Jesus is not recognised when he calls her “woman”; so he calls her by name, as though he were saying: Recognise me as I recognise you; for I do not know you as I know others; I know you as yourself. And so Mary, once addressed by name, recognises who is speaking. She immediately calls him rabboni, that is to say, teacher, because the one whom she sought outwardly was the one who inwardly taught her to keep on searching.

(Image Source)

Another Hymn to Mary Magdalene

Magdalene Repente by Antonio Canova, 1810

Here is another hymn/poem to Mary Magdalene, this time from Fr. Frederick Faber the author of so many important religious texts such as Growth in Holiness and Precious Blood:

They Sweet Fragrance of thine ointment
All the earth is filling now;
And thy tears are turned to jewels
For a crown upon thy brow:
There are thousands in all ages
Come to Christ because of thee,
Oh then, Mary, with thy converts
In thy kindness number me!

(Find the whole hymn here.)