CHAPTER V Of holy Mary Magdalene’s great sorrow of heart at the Passion of the Lord
CHAPTER V
Of holy Mary Magdalene’s great sorrow of heart at the Passion of the Lord
ALL praise and glory be to Thee, O most sweet Jesus Christ, for the exceeding holiness of Mary Magdalene, and for her devout lamentation at Thy most sacred and most bitter Passion. For her it was not enough to have attended Thee in Thy life on earth, and to have followed Thee through towns and villages witnessing the signs and miracles, worthy of all praise and honour, which Thou didst work by Thy Divine power; but in Thy Passion she never left Thee, but followed Thee weeping to the Cross’s foot, and was with holy Mary Thy Mother, and the many other devout and holy women, who with bitter tears compassionated Thee as Thou wentest on Thy way to Calvary, sorrowing for the burden of the Cross which Thou hadst to bear, and for the cruel death to which, all-innocent as Thou wert, Thou hadst been condemned. So long therefore as Thou wert in sight, she followed Thy Cross weeping, sobbing, and lamenting; she marked Thy every step, and passed along wringing her hands, beating her breast, and wiping her eyes, while copious floods of tears poured down her cheeks; for she felt that in no better way could she show her love, no otherwise could she be of any use, than by showing the deepest sorrow of heart, by weeping bitterly all day and all night, and by never forgetting the pain and the anguish which Thou hadst to endure. She felt every Wound of Thine as if it had been her own, and the more she loved Thee the more vehement was her grief, the more copious were her tears. When she saw Thee stripped naked and nailed to the Cross, she stood with Thy Mother at its foot, as close to it as she dared; and in spite of the intense anguish of her grief, for nothing in the world would she leave Thy Cross; to Thee and to Thy Mother she clung most faithfully until Thy death. When she heard Thy loud cry, and saw Thee die upon the Cross, so overwhelmed was she with grief that her soul fainted within her. Nourishment she could not take; sleep forsook her eyes. Tears were her only meat; to live longer deprived of Thee seemed to her a lot too hard to bear. Had she not been in all things submissive to Thy Will, she could after Thy death have endured life no longer. Her constant lamentations show that without Thee this life had no joy for her.
But, Mary, for the sake of thy loved One as He hangs upon the Cross, refrain thyself this once, I pray thee, for a while, and support the Mother of Jesus and her sisters in their hour of grievous need. Think not of forsaking the Mother; think not of leaving the side of the most sorrowful Virgin Mother of Jesus, as if thou couldst no longer bear to look upon grief so intense, or to hear moans so piteous. Grieve with those who grieve, weep with those that weep, that so in the glory of the Resurrection thou mayest rejoice with them that rejoice.
O good and most loving Jesus, Mary did as Thou hadst bidden her. As Thou saidst to her, and commandedst her before Thy Death, she kept what was left of the ointment in order that she might therewith anoint Thy Body for Its burial. She did not sell it, as Judas would have had her, for she did not forget Thy words; but she kept it in the alabaster box, and bought yet more of it, so making preparation for Thy needs. Of a truth a friend is proved in distress; true love is shown in the action which it prompts. And so it was that this holy and most faithful Mary proved how she loved Thee in life by the depth of her grief, and by the loving care for Thee which she showed in all that she did for Thee after death in the matter of Thy burial. Not a single thing did she leave undone of all that was needed for the reverent burial of Thy sacred Body. She swathed It, she anointed It, she covered It up, she bound It round, she sewed up the linen cloths, she reverently placed upon Thy sacred Head a napkin as Its fitting covering. All the while that she was doing this she wept unceasingly: her only comfort was the thought that she was found meet to join Thy other followers in attending upon Thee and upon Thy Mother, and that she was able to see all things about Thee rightly done. When at length Thy most sacred Body had been laid in the Tomb, and the entrance to it had been firmly closed and sealed, there was a fresh outburst of grief and lamentation; for she thought that never again in this life would she see Thee, with Whom she had but a short while since enjoyed such fellowship of spiritual life and joy. Nor, even when the Tomb had been closed, could she at once leave the place where her earthly Treasure lay hid: till sundown she sat there mourning in company with many other faithful women, till at length tears failed them; and even then they poured forth from the recesses of their hearts sighs of love, even as it is written of them: “The women sitting over against the Tomb wept and sorrowed for the Lord.”
Oh that to me also it might be given in such wise to compassionate Thee, O my Lord Jesus Christ, when I meditate on Thy Passion, as did devout Mary Magdalene on that Good Friday when she saw Thee crucified, dead, and buried, and of all men, as it were, set at nought, mocked, and blasphemed. But, thanks be to Thee, O most patient Jesus, this untrue report concerning Thee was but short-lived; for after three days Thou didst conquer, and didst confound Thy enemies by rising again victorious over death. Of a truth, Lord, those words of Thine were fulfilled which Thou spakest beforehand concerning Mary Magdalene, in the presence of Thy disciples, in praise of her good deeds, saying: “Amen, I say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she hath done shall be told for a memory of her.” Of a truth Thy whole house is filled with the odour of the ointment; that is to say the whole Church of the faithful, spread abroad throughout the world, is instructed by the teaching of the Apostles, and is animated by Divine truth. For the renown of Mary’s great sanctity is set forth in the writings of apostles and evangelists, and is consequently proclaimed far and wide by Doctors and preachers; and year by year her glorious festival is celebrated and honoured in Holy Church with special devotion by all the Clergy and by the people of either sex, upon the day on which her most blessed soul passed from this world to dwell with Thee, our Lord Jesus Christ, in Thy everlasting tabernacles. Amen.