Prayer to Saint Martha from the Liturgical Year, 1909

 

Now that, together with Magdalene, thou hast entered for ever into possession of the better part, thy place in heaven, O Martha, is very beautiful. For they that have ministered well, says St. Paul, shall purchase to themselves a good degree, and much confidence in the faith which is in Christ Jesus (1 Tim. iii. 13). The same service which the deacons, here alluded to by the Apostle, performed for the Church, thou didst render to the Church's Head and Spouse; thou didst rule well thine, own house, which was a figure of that Church so dear to the Son of God. But God is not unjust, that He should forget your work and the love which you have shown in His name, you who have ministered and do minister to the saints (Heb. vi. 10). And the Saint of saints Himself, thy indebted guest, gave us to understand something of thy greatness, when, speaking merely of a faithful servant set over the family to distribute food in due season, He cried out: Blessed is that servant whom when his lord shall come, he shall find so doing. Amen I say to you, he shall place him over all his goods (St. Matth. xxiv. 46, 47). O Martha, the Church exults on this day, whereon our Lord found thee thus continuing to serve Him in the persons of those little ones in whom He bids us seek Him. The moment had come for Him to welcome thee eternally. Henceforth the Host most faithful of all to the laws of hospitality, makes thee sit at His table in His own house, and girding Himself, ministers to thee as thou didst minister to Him.

From the midst of thy peaceful rest, protect those who are now carrying on the interests of Christ on earth, in His mystical Body, which is the entire Church, and in His wearied and suffering members the poor and the afflicted. Bless and multiply the works of holy hospitality; may the vast field of mercy and charity yield ever-increasing harvests. May the zeal displayed by so many generous souls lose nothing of its praiseworthy activity; and for this end, O sister of Magdalene, teach us all as our Lord taught thee, to place the one thing necessary above all else, and to value at its true worth the better part. After the word spoken to thee, for our sake as well as thine own, whosoever would disturb Magdalene at the feet of Jesus, or forbid her to sit there, would deserve to have his works frustrated by offended heaven.

Novena Prayer to Saint Anne To obtain some special favor

 

O GLORIOUS St. Anne, filled with compassion for those who invoke thee and with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at thy feet and humbly beg of thee to take under thy special protection the present affair which I commend to thee.

[State your petition___________Above all, merciful Saint Anne, I beg you to help me to master my evil inclinations and temptations, and to avoid all occasions of sin. Obtain for me the grace of never offending God, of fulfilling faithfully all the duties of my state of life, and of practicing all those virtues that are needful for my salvation.]

Be pleased to commend it to thy daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy outcome. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace of one day beholding my God face to face, and, with thee and Mary and all the Saints, of praising and blessing Him for all eternity. Amen.

      Good St. Anne, mother of her who is our life, our sweetness and our hope, pray to her for us and

obtain our request. [Three times.]

Good St. Anne, pray for us.

Jesus, Mary, Anne.

July 26 – St Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 The Liturgical Year, authored by Dom Prosper Gueranger 

Uniting the blood of kings with that of pontiffs, the glory of Anne’s illustrious origin is far surpassed by that of her offspring, without compare among the daughters of Eve. The noblest of all, who have ever conceived by virtue of the command to “increase and multiply,” beholds the law of human generation pause before her as having arrived at its summit, at the threshold of God; for from her fruit God himself is come forth, the fatherless Son of the Blessed Virgin, and the grandson of Anne and Joachim.

Before being favored with the greatest blessing ever bestowed on an earthly union, the two holy grand-parents of the Word made Flesh had to pass through the purification of suffering. Traditions which, though mingled with details of less authenticity, have come down to us from the very beginning of Christianity, tell us of these noble spouses subjected to the trial of prolonged sterility, and on that account despised by their people; of Joachim cast out of the temple and going to hide his sorrow in the desert; of Anne left alone to mourn her widowhood and humiliation. For exquisite sentiment this narrative might be compared with the most beautiful histories of Holy Scripture.

“It was one of the great festival days of the Lord. In spite of extreme sorrow, Anne laid aside her mourning garments, and adorned her head and clothed herself with her nuptial robes. And about the ninth hour she went down to the garden to walk; seeing a laurel she sat down in its shade, and poured forth her prayer to the Lord God, saying, God of my fathers, bless me and hear my supplication, as thou didst bless Sara and didst give her a son!

“And raising her eyes to heaven, she saw in the laurel a sparrow’s nest, and sighing she said: Alas! of whom was I born to be thus a curse in Israel?

“To whom shall I liken me? I cannot liken me to the birds of the air; for the birds are blessed by thee, O Lord.

“To whom shall I liken me? I cannot liken me to the beasts of the earth: for they, too, are fruitful before thee.

“To whom shall I liken me? I cannot liken me to the waters; for they are not barren in thy sight, and the rivers and the oceans full of fish praise thee in their heavings and in their peaceful flowing.

“To whom shall I liken me? I cannot liken me even to the earth, for the earth, too, bears fruit in season, and praises thee, O Lord.

“And behold an Angel of the Lord stood by, and said to her: Anne, God has heard thy prayer; thou shalt conceive and bear a child, and thy fruit shall be honored throughout the whole inhabited earth. And in due time Anne brought forth a daughter, and said: My soul is magnified this hour. And she called the child Mary; and giving her the breast, she intoned this canticle to the Lord:

“I will sing the praise of the Lord my God: for he has visited me and has taken away my shame, and has given me a fruit of justice. Who shall declare to the sons of Ruben that Anne is become fruitful? Hear, hear, O ye twelve tribes: behold Anne is giving suck!”

The feast of St. Joachim, which the Church celebrates on the Sunday within the octave of his blessed Daughter’s Assumption, will give us an occasion of completing the account of these trials and joys in which he shared. Warned from heaven to leave the desert, he met his spouse at the golden gate which leads to the Temple on the east side. Not far from here, near the Probatica piscina, where the little white lambs were washed before being offered in sacrifice, now stands the restored basilica of St. Anne, originally called St. Mary of the Nativity. Here, as in a peaceful paradise, the rod of Jesse produced that blessed branch which the Prophet hailed as about the bear the flower that had blossomed from eternity in the bosom of the Father. It is true that Sephoris, Anne’s native city, and Nazareth, where Mary lived, dispute with the holy City the honor which ancient and constant tradition assigns to Jerusalem. But our homage will not be misdirected if we offer it today to Blessed Anne, in whom were wrought the prodigies, the very thought of which brings new joy to heaven, rage to Satan, and triumph to the world.

Anne was, as it were, the starting point of Redemption, the horizon scanned by the prophets, the first span of the heavens to be empurpled with the rising fires of aurora; the blessed soil whose produce was so pure as to make the Angels believe that Eden had been restored to us. But in the midst of the aureola of incomparable peace that surrounds her, let us hail her as the land of victory surpassing the most famous fields of battle; as the sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception, where our humiliated race took up the combat begun before the throne of God by the Angelic hosts; where the serpent’s head was crushed, and Michael, now surpassed in glory, gladly handed over to his sweet Queen, at the first moment of her existence, the command of the Lord’s armies.

What human lips, unless touched like the prophet’s with a burning coal, could tell the admiring wonder of the Angelic Powers, when the Blessed Trinity, passing from the burning Seraphim to the lowest of the nine choirs, bade them turn their fiery glances and contemplate the flower of sanctity blossoming in the bosom of Anne? The Psalmist had said of the glorious City whose foundations were now hidden in her that was once barren: The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains; and the heavenly hierarchies crowning the slopes of the eternal hills, beheld in her heights to them unknown and unattainable, summits approaching so near to God, that he was even then preparing his throne in her. Like Moses at the sight of the burning bush on Horeb, they were seized with a holy awe on recognizing the mountain of God in the midst of the desert of this world; and they understood that the affliction of Israel was soon to cease. Although shrouded by the cloud, Mary was already that blessed mountain whose base, i.e., the starting point of her graces, was set far above the summits where the highest created sanctities are perfected in glory and love.

How justly is the mother named Anne, which signifies grace, she in whom for nine months were centered the complacencies of the Most High, the ecstasy of the Angelic Spirits and the hope of all flesh! No doubt it was Mary, the daughter, and not the mother, whose sweetness so powerfully attracted the heavens to our lowly earth. But the perfume first scents the vessel which contains it, and even after it is removed, leaves it impregnated with its fragrance. Moreover, it is customary to prepare the vase itself with the greatest care; it must be all the purer, made of more precious material, and more richly adorned, according as the essence to be placed in it is rarer and more exquisite. Thus Magdalene enclosed her precious spikenard in alabaster. The Holy Spirit, the preparer of heavenly perfumes, would not be less careful than men. Now the task of blessed Anne was not limited, like that of a material vase, to passively containing the treasure of the world. She furnished the body of her who was to give flesh to the Son of God; she nourished her with milk; she gave to her, who was inundated with floods of divine light, the first practical notions of life. In the education of her illustrious daughter, Anne played the part of a true mother: not only did she guide Mary’s first steps, but she cooperated with the Holy Ghost in the education of her soul, and the preparation for her incomparable destiny; until, when the work had reached the highest development to which she could bring it, she, without a moment’s hesitation or a thought of self, offered her tenderly loved child to him from whom she had received her.

Sic fingit tabernaculum Deo, thus she frames a tabernacle for God. Such was the inscription around the figure of St. Anne instructing Mary, which formed the device of the ancient guild of joiners and cabinet-makers; for they, looking upon the making of tabernacles wherein God may dwell in our churches as their most choice work, had taken St. Anne for their patroness and model. Happy were those times, when the simplicity of our fathers penetrated so deeply into the practical understanding of mysteries, which their infatuated sons glory in ignoring. The valiant woman is praised in the Book of Proverbs for her spinning, weaving, sewing, embroidering, and household cares: naturally then, those engaged in these occupations placed themselves under the protection of the spouse of Joachim. More than once, those suffering from the same trial which had inspired Anne’s touching prayer beneath the sparrow’s nest, experienced the power of her intercession in obtaining for others, as well as for herself, the blessing of the Lord God.

The East anticipated the West in the public cultus of the grandmother of the Messias. Towards the middle of the sixth century, a Church was dedicated to her in Constantinople. The Typicon of St. Sabbas makes a liturgical commemoration of her three times in the year: on the 9^th of September, together with her spouse St. Joachim, the day after the birthday of their glorious daughter; on the 9^th of December, whereon the Greeks, a day later than the Latins, keep the feast of our Lady’s Immaculate Conception, under a title which more directly expresses St. Anne’s share in the mystery; and lastly, the 25^th of July, not being occupied by the feast of St. James, which was kept on the 30^th of April, is called the Dormitio or precious death of St. Anne, mother of the most holy Mother of God: the very same expression which the Roman Martyrology adopted later.

Although Rome, with her usual reserve, did not until much later authorize the introduction into the Latin Churches of a liturgical feast of St. Anne, she nevertheless encouraged the piety of the faithful in this direction. So early as the time of Leo III and by that illustrious Pontiff’s express command, the history of Anne and Joachim was represented on the sacred ornaments of the noblest basilicas in the Eternal City. The Order of Carmel, so devout to St. Anne, powerfully contributed, by its fortunate migration into our countries, to the growing increase of her cultus. Moreover, this development was the natural outcome of the progress of devotion among the people to the Mother of God. The close relation between the two worships is noticed in a concession, whereby in 1381 Urban VI satisfied the desires of the faithful in England by authorizing for that kingdom a feast of the blessed Anne. The Church of Apt in Provence had been already a century in possession of the feast; a fact due to the honor bestowed on that Church of having received almost together with the faith, the Saint’s holy body, in the first age of Christianity.

Since our Lord, reigning in heaven, has willed that his blessed Mother should also be crowned there in her virginal body, the relics of Mary’s mother have become doubly dear to the world, first, as in the case of others, on account of the holiness of her whose precious remains they are, and then above all others, on account of their close connection with the mystery of the Incarnation. The Church of Apt was so generous out of its abundance, that it would now be impossible to enumerate the sanctuaries which have obtained, either from this principal source or from elsewhere, more or less notable portions of these precious relics. We cannot omit to mention as one of these privileged places the great Basilica of St. Paul outside the walls; St. Anne herself, in an apparition to St. Bridget of Sweden (Cap. CIV), confirmed the authenticity of the arm which forms one of the most precious jewels in the rich treasury of that Church.

It was not until 1584 that Gregory XIII ordered the celebration of this feast of July 26 throughout the whole Church, with the rite of a double. Leo XIII in 1879 raised it, together with that of St. Joachim, to the dignity of a solemnity of second class. But before that, Gregory XV, after having been cured of a serious illness by St. Anne, had ranked her feast among those of precept, with obligation of resting from servile work.

Now that St. Anne was receiving the homage do to her exalted dignity, she made haste to show her recognition of this more solemn tribute of praise. In the years 1623, 1624 and 1625, in the village of Keranna, near Auray, in Brittany, she appeared to Yves Nicolazie, and discovered to him an ancient statue buried in the field of Bocenno, which he tenanted. This discovery brought the people once more to the place where, a thousand years before, the inhabitants of ancient Armorica had honored that statue. Innumerable graces obtained on the spot spread its fame far beyond the limits of the province, whose faith, worthy of past ages, had merited the favor of the grandmother of the Messias; and St. Anne d’Auray was soon reckoned among the chief pilgrimages of the Christian world.

More fortunate than the wife of Elcana, who prefigured thee both in her trial and by her name, thou, O Anne, now singest the magnificent gifts of the Lord. Where is now the proud synagogue that despised thee? The descendants of the barren one are now without number; and all we, the brethren of Jesus, children, like him, of thy daughter Mary, come joyfully, led by our Mother, to offer thee our praises. In the family circle the grandmother’s feast day is the most touching of all, when her grandchildren surround her with reverential love, as we gather around thee today.

Many, alas! know not these beautiful feasts, where the blessing of the earthly paradise seems to revive in all its freshness; but the mercy of our God has provided a sweet compensation. He, the Most High God, willed to come so nigh to us, as to be one of us in the flesh; to know the relations and mutual dependencies which are the law of our nature; the bonds of Adam, with which he had determined to draw us and in which he first bound himself. For, in raising nature above itself, he did not eliminate it; he made grace take hold of it and lead it to heaven; so that, joined together on earth by their Divine Author, nature and grace were to be united for all eternity. We, then, being brethren by grace of him who is ever thy Grandson by nature, are, by this loving disposition of Divine Wisdom, quite at home under thy roof; and today’s feast, so dear to the hearts of Jesus and Mary, is our own family feast.

Smile, then, dear mother, upon our chants and bless our prayers. Today and always be propitious to the supplications which our land of sorrows sends up to thee. Be gracious to wives and mothers who confide to thee their holy desires and the secret of their sorrows. Keep up, where they still exist, the traditions of the Christian home. Over how many families has the baneful breath of this age passed, blighting all that is serious in life, weakening faith, leaving nothing but languor, weariness, frivolity, if not even worse, in the place of the true and solid joys of our fathers. How truly might the Wise Man say at the present day: “Who shall find a valiant woman?” She alone by her influence could counteract all these evils; but on condition of recognizing wherein her true strength lies: in humble household works done with her own hands; in hidden, self-sacrificing devotedness; in watchings by night; in hourly foresight; working in wool and flax, and with the spindle; all those strong things which win for her the confidence and praise of her husband; authority over all, abundance in the house, blessings from the poor whom she has helped, honor from strangers, reverence from her children; and for herself, in the fear of the Lord, nobility and dignity, beauty and strength, wisdom, sweetness and content, and calm assurance at the latter day.

O blessed Anne, rescue society, which is perishing for want of virtues like thine. The motherly kindness thou art ever more frequently bestowing upon us have increased the Church’s confidence; deign to respond to the hopes she places in thee. Mayest thou become known throughout the whole world. As for us, who have long known thy power and experienced thy goodness, let us ever seek in thee, O mother, our rest, security, strength in every trial; for he who leans on thee has nothing to fear on earth, and he who rests in thy arms is safely carried.

Let us offer the blessed Anne a wreath gathered from the Liturgy. We will first cull from the Menæa of the Greeks, as being the earliest in date.

Saint James the Greater, Apostle

from the Liturgical Year, 1909

Let us, today, hail the bright star, which once made Compostella so resplendent with its rays, that the obscure town became, like Jerusalem and Rome, a centre of attraction to the piety of the whole world. As long as the Christian empire lasted, the sepulchre of St. James the Great rivalled in glory that of St. Peter himself.

Among the Saints of God, there is not one who manifested more evidently how the elect keep up after death an interest in the works confided to them by our Lord. The life of St. James after his call to the Apostolate was but short; and the result of his labours in Spain, his allotted portion, appeared to be a failure. Scarcely had he, in his rapid course, taken possession of the land of Iberia, when, impatient to drink the chalice which would satisfy his continual desire to be close to his Lord, he opened by martyrdom the heavenward procession of the twelve, which was to be closed by the other son of Zebedee. O Salome, who didst give them both to the world, and didst present to Jesus their ambitious prayer, rejoice with a double joy: thou art not repulsed; He who made the hearts of mothers is thine abettor. Did he not, to the exclusion of all others except Simon his Vicar, choose thy two sons as witnesses of the greatest works of his power, admit them to the contemplation of his glory on Thabor, and confide to them his sorrow unto death in the garden of his agony? And to-day thy eldest born becomes the first-born in heaven of the sacred college; the protomartyr of the Apostles repays, as far as in him lies, the special love of Christ our Lord.

But how was he a messenger of the faith, since the sword of Herod Agrippa put such a speedy end to his mission? And how did he justify his name of son of thunder, since his voice was heard by a mere handful of disciples in a desert of infidelity? This new name, another special prerogative of the two brothers, was realized by John in his sublime writings, wherein as by lightning flashes he revealed to the world the deep things of God; it was the same in his case as in that of Simon, who having been called Peter by Christ, was also made by him the foundation of the Church: the name given by the Man-God was a prophecy, not an empty title. With regard to James too, then, Eternal Wisdom cannot have been mistaken. Let it not be thought that the sword of any Herod could frustrate the designs of the Most High upon the men of his choice. The life of the Saints is never cut short; their death, ever precious, is still more so when in the cause of God it seems to come before the time. It is then that with double reason we may say their works follow them; God, Himself, being bound in honour, both for His own sake and for theirs, to see that nothing is wanting to their plenitude. As a, victim, of a holocaust he hath received them, says the Holy Ghost, and in time there shall be respect had to them. The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among the reeds. They shall judge nations, and rule over peoples; and their Lord shall reign for ever (Wisd. iii. 6-8). How literally was this Divine oracle to be fulfilled with regard to our Saint!

Nearly eight centuries, which to the heavenly citizens are but as a day, had passed over that tomb in the North of Spain, where two disciples had secretly laid the Apostle's body. During that time, the land of his inheritance, which he had so rapidly traversed, had been overrun first by Roman idolaters, then by Arian barbarians, and when the day of hope seemed about to dawn, a deeper night was ushered in by the Crescent. One day lights were seen glimmering over the briars that covered the neglected monument; attention was drawn to the spot, which henceforth went by the name of the field of stars. But what are those sudden shouts coming down from the mountains, and echoing through the valleys? Who is this unknown chief rallying against an immense army the little worn-out troop whose heroic valour could not yesterday save it from defeat?

Swift as lightning, and bearing in one hand a white standard with a red cross, he rushes with drawn sword upon the panic-stricken foe, and dyes the feet of his charger in the blood of 70,000 slain. Hail to the chief of the holy war, of which this Liturgical Year has so often made mention! Saint James! Saint James! Forward, Spain! It is the reappearance of the Galilaean Fisherman, whom the Man-God once called from the bark where he was mending his nets; of the elder son of thunder, now free to hurl the thunderbolt upon these new Samaritans, who pretend to honour the unity of God by making Christ no more than a prophet (Battle of Clavijo, under Ramiro I. about 845). Henceforth, James shall be to Christian Spain, the firebrand which the Prophet saw, devouring all the people round about, to the right hand and to the left, until Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place in Jerusalem (Zach. xii. 6).

And when, after six centuries and a half of struggle, his standard bearers, the Catholic kings, had succeeded in driving the infidel hordes beyond the seas, the valiant leader of the Spanish armies laid aside his bright armour, and the slayer of Moors became once more a messenger of the faith. As fisher of men, he entered his bark, and gathering around it the gallant fleets of a Christopher Columbus, a Vasco di Gama, an Albuquerque, he led them over unknown seas to lands that had never yet heard the name of the Lord. For his contribution to the labours of the twelve, James drew ashore his wellfilled nets from West and East and South, from new worlds, renewing Peter's astonishment at the sight of such captures. He, whose apostolate seemed at the time of Herod III. to have been crushed in the bud before bearing any fruit, may say with St. Paul: I have no way come short of them that are above measure Apostles, for by the grace of God I have laboured more abundantly than all they (2 Cor. xii. 11, and 1 Cor. xv. 10).

Let us now read the lines consecrated by the Church to his honour: James, the son of Zebedee, and own brother of John the Apostle, was a Galilaean. He was one of the first to be called to the Apostolate together with his brother, and, leaving his father and his nets, he followed the Lord. Jesus called them both Boanerges, that is to say, sons of Thunder. He was one of the three Apostles whom our Saviour loved the most, and whom He chose as witnesses of His transfiguration, and of the miracle by which He raised to life the daughter of the ruler of the Synagogue, and whom He wished to be present when he retired to the Mount of Olives, to pray to his Father, before being taken prisoner by the Jews.

After the Ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven, James preached His Divinity in Judea and Samaria, and led many to the Christian faith. Soon, however, he set out for Spain, and there made some converts to Christianity; among these were the seven men, who were afterwards consecrated bishops by St. Peter, and were the first sent by him into Spain. James returned to Jerusalem, and, among others, instructed Hermogenes, the magician, in the truths of faith. Herod Agrippa, who had been raised to the throne under the Emperor Claudius, wished to curry favour with the Jews, he, therefore, condemned the Apostle to death for openly proclaiming Jesus Christ to be God. When the man who had brought him to the tribunal saw the courage with which he went to martyrdom he declared that he, too, was a Christian.

As they were being hurried to execution, he implored James' forgiveness. The Apostle kissed him, saying: "Peace be with you." Thus both of them were James having a little before cured a paralytic. His body was afterwards translated to Compostella, where it is honoured with the highest veneration; pilgrims flock thither from every part of the world, to satisfy their devotion or pay their vows. The memory of his natalis is celebrated by the Church to-day, which is the day of his translation. But it was near the feast of the Pasch that, first of all the Apostles, he shed his blood, at Jerusalem, as a witness to Jesus Christ.

Prayer:

Patron of Spain, forget not the grand nation which owes to thee both its heavenly nobility and its earthly prosperity; preserve it from ever diminishing those truths which made it, in its bright days, the salt of the earth; keep it in mind of the terrible warning that if the salt lose its savour, it is good for nothing any more but to be cast out and to be trodden on by men (St. Matth. v. 13). At the same time remember, O Apostle, the special cultus wherewith the whole Church honours thee. Does she not to this very day keep under the immediate protection of the Roman Pontiff both thy sacred body, so happily rediscovered in our times (Litterae Leonis XIII., diei 1 Novemb. 1884, ad Archiep. Compostell.), and the vow of going on pilgrimage to venerate those precious relics?

Where now are the days when thy wonderful energy of expansion abroad was surpassed by thy power of drawing all to thyself? Who but he that numbers the stars of the firmament could count the Saints, the penitents, the kings, the warriors, the unknown of every grade, the ever-renewed multitude, ceaselessly moving to and from that field of stars, whence thou didst shed thy light upon the world? Our ancient legends tell us of a mysterious vision granted to the founder of Christian Europe. One evening after a day of toil, Charlemagne, standing on the shore of the Frisian Sea, beheld a long belt of stars, which seemed to divide the sky between Gaul, Germany, and Italy, and crossing over , Gascony, the Basque territory, and Navarre, stretched away to the far-off Province of Galicia. Then thou didst appear to him and say: "This starry path " marks out the road for thee to go and deliver my "tomb; and all nations shall follow after thee (Pseudo-Turpin. De vita Car. Magn.)." And Charles, crossing the mountains, gave the signal to all Christendom to undertake those great Crusades, which were both the salvation and the glory of the Latin races, by driving back the Mussulman plague to the land of its birth.

When we consider that two tombs formed, as it were, the two extreme points or poles of this movement unparalleled in the history of nations: the one wherein the God-Man rested in death, the other where thy body lay, O son of Zebedee, we cannot help crying out with the Psalmist: Thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honourable (Ps. csssviii. 17)! And what a mark of friendship did the Son of Man bestow on his humble apostle by sharing His honours with him, when the military Orders and Hospitallers were established, to the terror of the Crescent, for the sole purpose, at the outset, of entertaining and protecting pilgrims on their way to one or other of these holy tombs? May the heavenly impulse now so happily showing itself in the return to the great Catholic pilgrimages, gather once more at Compostella the sons of thy former clients. We, at least, will imitate St. Louis before the walls of Tunis, murmuring with his dying lips the Collect of thy feast; and we will repeat in conclusion: "Be thou, O Lord, the sanctifier and guardian of thy people; that, defended by the protection of thy Apostle James, they may please thee by their conduct, and serve thee with secure minds."

St. Mary Magdalene: Patron Saint of Penitent Sinners, reformed prostitutes, against sexual temptation

 

Patronage: against sexual temptation, penitent sinners, penitent women,

people ridiculed for their piety, contemplative life, converts, perfumeries, perfumers, reformed prostitutes.

John 11:2

 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill.

Catena Aurea of St. Thomas Aquine: Gospel of St. Luke Chapter 8

BEDE. Mary Magdalene is the same of whose repentance, without mention of her name, we have just read. For the Evangelist, when he relates her going with our Lord, rightly distinguishes her by her known name, but when describing the sinner but penitent, He speaks of her generally as a woman; lest the mark of her former guilt should blacken a name of so great report. Out of whom seven devils are reported to have gone, that it might be shewn that she was full of all vices. 

 

GREGORY. (Hom. 33. in Ev.) For what is understood by the seven devils, but all vices? For since all time is comprehended by seven days, rightly by the number seven is universality represented: Mary therefore had seven devils, for she was full of every kind of vice. It follows, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who ministered to him of their substance.

On the Conversion of St. Mary Magdalene

by Richard Challoner, 1807

Consider first, the sudden and wonderful change God was pleased to work in the heart of this glorious penitent. Behold a woman in the city that was a sinner, (saith St. Luke) when she knew that Jesus was at meat in the house of the Pharisee, brought an alabaster box of ointment; and standing behind at his feet, she began to wash His feet with her tears; and she wiped them with the hairs of her head, and she kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment, Luke vii. 37, 38. See here, my soul, a penitent indeed; thoroughly penetrated with the sense of the dreadful evil of her sins, and therefore not to be restrained, either by shame or fear, or any considerations of what the world would think, or say, from running immediately to her Saviour, though then at table, and in the midst of the Pharisees, and there to do public penance, without regard to their censures or contempt. O see what it is for a soul to have her eyes truly opened, to discover the deformity of her sins, and to view those odious monsters in their true shape, which have so long possessed her! She thinks every moment an age, till by running to our Lord, she can get rid of her guilt, whatever it may cost her, or whoever may scoff at her, or censure her for it.

Consider 2dly, the chiefest ingredients in Magdalen's conversion; her faith, her humility, her love, her penitential tears, and her dedicating now to the service of her Lord all that she had before employed in sin. Her faith, joined with her humble confidence in the goodness and mercy of her Saviour, appears in her running to Him to be washed and cleansed by Him from all her filth, in the true fountain of life. Her humility appears, in her not daring to come before His face, nor to address herself to Him in words, but standing behind at His feet, and speaking to His heart by floods of tears. Her ardent love shews itself, in her often kissing His feet, and in the penitential tears it produces; and is therefore taken notice of by our Lord, as the main disposition towards her justification. Many sins are forgiven her (said he) for she hath loved much, ver. 47. And now her hair, her precious ointments, her whole person, are wholly dedicated to her Saviour, to whom, from this time forward, she adheres, with such an inviolable fidelity, and unalterable affection, as not even to suffer herself to be kept off from him, either by the ignominy of the cross, or the horror of the sepulchre. See, sinners, what it is to be a perfect convert, what it is to be a penitent indeed.

Consider 3dly, the lessons all Christians may learn from Magdalen's conversion. And first, a sense of the wonderful mercies of God, who thus changes, in an instant, the greatest sinners into the greatest saints; that so we may never despair of the conversion of any one, nor ever presume to despise poor sinners, how abandoned soever, or to prefer ourselves before any of them ; since whatever they are to-day, to-morrow they may be great penitents, and great favourites of heaven. Secondly, we must learn, from this great example, a ready compliance with the graces and calls of God; with a courage and resolution to overcome the opposition we shall be sure to meet with in our return to God, from old habits, human respects, or any other considerations. Alas! if Magdalen had regarded the censures of the world, or delayed her conversion, for fear of what the Pharisees should say or think of her, in all appearance she would have died in her sins. Thirdly, we may learn by her example, that the most effectual means for the remission of all our sins, and the advancing of our souls to the perfection of all holiness, is an ardent love of our blessed Redeemer, and a repentance influenced by love. Happy we, if we can but learn of her to go daily in this penitential spirit to the feet of Christ! He never rejects a penitent.

Conclude, if thou hast followed Magdalen in her sins, to imitate her also in her conversion : and the more, and the greater thy sins have been, to make the greater return of love to Him, who has so mercifully spared thee in thy sins, and so lovingly forgiven thee that immense debt, which thou owedst to His justice.

FEAST OF THE HOLY PENITENT MARY MAGDALEN

by Leonard Goffine, Published 1896

Mary Magdalen, a sister of Lazarus and of Martha, of Bethany, was a notorious sinner in Jerusalem. Moved by the preaching of Jesus, she did public penance. She went openly into the house of the Pharisee with whom Jesus was sitting at table, threw herself at His feet, anointed them with precious ointment, washed them with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. Jesus, knowing her contrite heart, forgave her her sins (Luke vii. 37, 38), and from that time forward she became the most zealous and faithful of the women who were disciples of Our Lord. She followed Him, always ministered unto Him of her substance (Luke viii. 3), and when He died was standing under the cross. Prayer:

We beseech Thee, O Lord, that we may be helped by the intercession of blessed Mary Magdalen, at whose prayers Thou didst raise up again to life her brother Lazarus, who had been dead for four days. Who livest, etc. Amen.

EPISTLE. Cant. iii. 2-5; viii. 6, 7.

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? When I had a little passed by them, I found him whom my soul loveth. I held him: and I will not let him go till I bring him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that bore me. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the harts of the fields, that you stir not up, nor awake my beloved till she please. Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm, for love is strong as death; jealousy as hard as hell; the lamps thereof are fire and flame. Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it: if a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing.

The soul that, following the direction of the watchmen, that is, the priests, teachers, and rulers of the Church, seeks Jesus, He goes to meet, gives Himself up to, takes up His abode in, with all His love, with all His treasures. The soul which has found Christ for delight forgets all outward things, and no longer has love or joy but for and in Christ. How should it be otherwise? What can be wanting to him who truly possesses Christ? This love for Him Who loved us unto death shows itself by outward acts that are heroic. So Mary Magdalen loved Jesus. Follow her example.

GOSPEL. Luke vii. 36-50.

At that time : One of the Pharisees desired Jesus to eat with him. And He 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. A certain creditor had two debtors, the one 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.

Magdalen, who had sinned openly, openly did penance. In like manner, he who has given public scandal must seek to make amends for it by public good example.

Magdalen confessed her sins, says St. Ambrose, not with words, but with abundant tears of penitence. To tell her sins to Christ, the All-knowing, was not necessary; but what a confession was there in the posture of humiliation, and in the tears that flowed from the contrite sinner. Would you obtain forgiveness? Confess with contrition, like Magdalen.

The words, "Thy faith hath made thee safe," denote a faith active as love. Faith and love are in truth never separated, for he only truly believes who also loves; and he only loves according to God s will who believes in Him. Therefore believe in truth, love, and show your love by earnest hatred of every sin, by flying from occasions of sin, by fighting against your passions, by change of your life, and by humble confession, and as true as God lives you will be saved, as was Magdalen ; the peace of God will enter into your heart.

Aspiration:

O most loving Jesus, give me an earnest will to forsake all evil, and to return to Thee, my chief good, to repent of my sins out of true love, to guard against them for the future, to shun the occasion by which I have hitherto been enticed into sin, and by the practice of good works to redeem the time lost. Grant me this, O Jesus, by Thy bitter passion and death, and through the intercession of the holy penitent Magdalen. Amen.

Prayer to obtain true repentance

V. Sancta María Magdaléna.  

R. Ora pro nobis.

Novena to Saint Anne

Tuesday is the day dedicated to Saint Anne. A novena of nine Tuesdays can be made by those who wish to honor her by special devotions or a novena of nine consecutive days at one's own choice.

In making a novena, recite the novena prayers as found below. If possible, hear Mass every day and receive Holy Communion at least once during the novena.

INDULGENCES

The faithful who devoutly say some prayers in honor of Saint Anne on nine successive Tuesdays are granted:

The faithful who offer their devout supplications in honor of Saint Anne, with the intention of so continuing for nine successive days, are granted: An indulgence of seven years, once on any day of the novena.

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Glorious St. Anne, filled with compassion for those who invoke you and with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you to take the present affair which I recommend to you under your special protection. (Here ask tor favor you wish to obtain.) Vouchsafe to recommend it to your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy issue. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace of one day beholding my God face to face, and with You and Mary and all the saints, praising and blessing Him through all eternity. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father

First Day:

Great Saint Anne engrave indelibly in my heart and in my mind the words which have reclaimed and sanctified so many sinners: "What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world if he lose his own soul?" May this be the principal fruit of these pious exercises by which I will strive to honor thee during this Novena. At thy feet I renew my resolution to invoke thee daily not only for the success of my temporal affairs and to be preserved from sickness and suffering, but above all, that I may be preserved from all sin, that I may gain the victory over my depraved inclination and that I may succeed in working out my eternal salvation. O my powerful Protectress, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven, there with thee, thy blessed spouse and thy glorious daughter, to sing the praise of the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father

Practice: Honor Good Saint Anne all the days of your life, by some prayer or short ejaculation.

A Prayer in honor of the Blessed Virgin and St. Anne:

Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; thy grace be with me. Blessed art thou amoung women, and blessed be St. Anne, thy Mother, from whom thou didst proceed without stain of sin, O Virgin Mary; but of thee was born Christ Jesus, Son of the living God. Who liveth and reigneth, God, etc.

(Indulgence: 100 days Indulgence--Pius VII.)

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Second Day:

Glorious Saint Anne how canst thou be otherwise than overflowing with tenderness toward poor sinners like myself, since thou art the grandmother of Him Who shed Blood for them, and the mother of her whom the saints call the advocate of sinners? To thee, therefore, I address my prayers with confidence. Vouchsafe to commend me to Jesus and Mary so that, at thy request, they may grant me remission of my sins, perseverance, the love of God, charity for all mankind, and the special grace [here mention your intentions] of which I stand in need at this present time. O my powerful Protectress, let me not lose my soul, but obtain for me that, through the merits of Jesus Christ and the intercession of Mary, I may have the happiness of seeing them, of loving and praising them with thee for all eternity. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father

Practice: When you pray to Saint Anne do not fail to ask of her the love of Jesus and Mary. It is the most beneficial prayer you can offer and it will always be granted.

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Third Day:

Beloved of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Mother of the Queen of Heaven, take us, and all who are dear to us, under thy special care. Obtain for us the virtues thou didst instill into the heart of her who was destined to become the Mother of God, and the graces with which thou wast endowed. Sublime model of Christian womanhood! Pray that we may imitate thy example in our homes and families, listen to our petitions, and obtain our requests, Guardian of the infancy and childhood of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain the graces necessary for all who enter the marriage state, that imitating thy virtues they may sanctify their homes, and lead the souls entrusted to their care to eternal glory. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father

Practice: Ask of God, through the intercession of Saint Anne and of Saint Joachim, the virtues proper to your state of life and the grace to worthily fulfill all its obligations.

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Fourth Day:

Glorious Saint, I kneel in confidence at thy feet for thou also hast tasted the bitterness and sorrow of life. My necessities, the cause of my tears, are as follows: [Here mention your intention]. Good Saint Anne, thou, who didst suffer much during the twenty years that preceded thy glorious maternity, I beseech thee, by all thy sufferings and humiliations, to grant my prayer. I pray thee, through thy love for thy glorious spouse, through thy love for thy immaculate child, through the joy thou didst feel at the moment of her happy birth, not to refuse me. Bless me, bless my family and all who are dear to me, so that some day we may all be with thee in the glory of heaven for all eternity. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father

Practice: Patience under suffering is the shortest road to heaven, and a great sign of predestination. When crosses overtake you, ask Saint Anne to give you patience and resignation to bear them.

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Fifth Day:

Great Saint, how far I am from resembling thee, I so easily give way to impatience and discouragement; and so easily give up praying when God does not at once grant my request. That is why I am so wretched and so poor in virtue. Prayer is the key to all heavenly treasures and I cannot pray, because my weak faith and languid confidence fail me at the slightest delay of divine mercy. O my powerful Protectress, come to my aid, cause my confidence and fervor, supported by the promises of Jesus Christ, to redouble in proportion as the trial to which God in His goodness subjects me is prolonged, that I may thus obtain, like thee, more than I can venture to ask. In the future, I will remember that I am made for heaven and not for earth, for eternity and not for time; that consequently I must ask, above all, the salvation of my soul which is assured to all who pray properly and who persevere in prayer. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father

Practice: One of the greatest graces you can ask of God through Saint Anne's intercession, is unshaken confidence in the promise made by Jesus to those who pray.

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Sixth Day:

Glorious Saint Anne, mother of the august Mother of God, I beg thee to obtain, through thy intercession, the pardon of my sins and the assistance I need in my troubles. What can I not hope for if thou deignest to take me under thy protection? The Most High has been pleased to grant the prayers of sinners whenever thou has been charitable enough to be their advocate. Humbly prostrate at thy feet, I beg thee to help me in all spiritual and temporal dangers; to guide me in the true path of Christian perfection, and finally, to obtain for me the grace of ending my life with the death of the just, so that I may contemplate face to face thy beloved Jesus and thy daughter Mary in thy loving companionship throughout eternity. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father

Practice: Invoke Saint Anne's aid whenever God requires you to make a painful and difficult sacrifice; she will make it easier for you.

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Seventh Day:

Good Saint Anne, so justly called the mother of the infirm, the cure of those who suffer from disease, look kindly upon the sick for whom I pray; alleviate their sufferings; cause them to sanctify their sufferings by patience and complete submission to the divine will; finally deign to obtain health for them and with it the firm resolution to honor Jesus, Mary and thyself by the faithful performance of duties. But, merciful Saint Anne, I ask thee above all, salvation of the soul, rather than bodily health, for I am convinced that this fleeting life is given us solely to assure us a better one. Now, we cannot obtain that better life without the help of God's graces, I earnestly beg them of thee for the sick and for myself, the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of His Immaculate Mother and through thy efficacious and powerful mediation, O glorious Saint Anne. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father

Practice: A sure way of making yourselves dear to Saint Anne is to be charitable to your brethren, all of whom are her children. Apply yourselves to relieving their corporal necessities; be zealous for their salvation; never let a day pass without praying for the conversion of sinners and the deliverance of the souls in Purgatory.

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Eighth Day:

Remember, O Saint Anne, thou whose name signifieth grace and mercy that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help and sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, good and kind mother; I take refuge at thy feet and sinful as I am, I venture to appear before thee, groaning under the weight of my sins. O holy Mother of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, despise not my petitions but hear me and grant my prayer. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father

Practice: Holiness is the highest gift to which a creature can aspire. With the aid of divine grace you can obtain it. God even commands you to strive for it with all your might: for that reason are you a Christian. Make the resolution to do everything in your power to win that treasure. There have been Saints in all conditions of life; why cannot you, with the help of God, do what they have done?

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Ninth Day:

Most Holy Mother of the Virgin Mary, glorious Saint Anne, I, a miserable sinner, confiding in thy kindness, choose thee today as my special advocate. I offer and consecrate my person and all my interests to thy care and maternal solicitude. I purpose to serve and honor thee all my life for the love of thy most holy daughter and to do all in my power to spread devotion to thee.

O my very good Mother and advocate, deign to accept me as thy servant and to adopt me as thy child. O glorious Queen, I beg thee, by the Passion of my most loving Jesus, the Son of Mary, thy most holy daughter, to assist me in all the necessities both of my body and my soul. Venerable Mother, I beg thee to obtain for me the grace of leading a life perfectly conformable in all things to the divine will. I place my soul in thy hands and in those of thy kind daughter; I confide it to thee, above all at the moment, when it will be about to separate itself from my body in order that appearing under thy patronage before the Supreme Judge, He may find it worthy of enjoying His divine presence in thy holy companionship in heaven. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be To The Father

Practice: Pray daily to Saint Anne for the love of Jesus and Mary and for victory over that evil inclination which is most hurtful to your soul.