From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

April 2nd =E2=80=93 St. Mary of Egypt
5th v.

THE story of St. Mary of Egypt seems to be based upon a short and not incredible account contained in the Life of St. Cyriacus, written by
his disciple Cyril of Scythopolis. The holy man had retired with his
followers into the wild and apparently uninhabited desert beyond
Jordan. One day two of his disciples suddenly saw a human figure which
escaped into some bushes, but which they afterwards tracked into a
cave. The figure told them not to approach because she was a woman and
naked, but upon being interrogated she informed them that her name was
Mary, that she was a great sinner who had been a public singer and
actress, and that she had come there to expiate her former life. The
two returned to tell St. Cyriacus what they had seen and heard. Upon
the occasion of a second visit which they paid to the cave they found
her lying dead and they buried her on the spot.

Round about this narrative there grew up an elaborate legend which
attained enormous popularity in the middle ages and which is
illustrated on the old glass windows of the cathedrals of Bourges,
Auxerre and elsewhere. It may be summarized as follows:

In the reign of Theodosius the Younger, there lived in Palestine a
holy monk and priest named Zosimus who, having served God with great
fervour in the same house for 53 years, was divinely directed to leave
his monastery for one near the Jordan, where he might learn how to
advance still further on the path of holiness. He found that the
members of this community on the first Sunday in Lent after Mass used
to disperse in the desert to pass in solitude and penance the time
until Palm Sunday. It was at that season, about the year 430, that
Zosimus found himself a 20 days' distance from his monastery, and s=
at
down one day at noon to say his psalms and to rest. Perceiving
suddenly what appeared to be a human form he made the sign of the
cross and finished his psalms. Then, looking up, he saw a
white-haired, sun-tanned figure which he took to be a hermit, but
which ran away as he went towards it. He had nearly overtaken it and
was near enough to crave its blessing, when it exclaimed, =E2=80=9CFather Zosimus, I am a woman: throw your mantle to cover me that you may come
near me=E2=80=9D. Surprised that she should know his name, he complied, and they entered into conversation. In reply to his inquiries the woman
told him her strange story with many expressions of shame and
penitence: =E2=80=9CMy country=E2=80=9D, she said, =E2=80=9Cis Egypt. At th=
e age of 12, while
my father and mother were still living, I went without their consent
to Alexandria. I cannot think without trembling of the first steps by
which I fell into sin or of the excesses which followed.=E2=80=9D She then described how she had lived as a public prostitute for 17 years, not
for money, but to gratify her lust. At the age of about 28, curiosity
led her to join a band of people who were going to celebrate at
Jerusalem the feast of the Holy Cross--and even on the journey she
continued her evil courses, corrupting some of the pilgrims. Upon
their arrival in Jerusalem she tried to enter the church with the rest
of the congregation, but an invisible force held her back. After 2 or
3 ineffectual attempts, she withdrew into a corner of the outer court,
and for the first time a full realization of her sinfulness swept over
her. Raising her eyes to an icon of the Virgin Mary she besought with
tears the help of the Mother of God, vowing herself to a life of
penance. With a lightened heart she was now able without any
difficulty to enter the church to venerate the cross, and as she
returned to the icon to give thanks to our Lady she heard a voice
which said, =E2=80=9CGo over Jordan and thou shalt find rest=E2=80=9D.

At a baker's where she bought loaves she inquired the way to the
Jordan, and started off forthwith, arriving that same night at the
church of St. John the Baptist on the bank of the river. Here she made
her communion and crossed the Jordan into the wilderness, where she
had remained ever since--about 47 years, as far as she could judge.
She had seen no human being and had lived on edible plants and on
dates. The winter cold and the summer heat had sorely afflicted her
unprotected body, and she had often been tortured by thirst. At such
times she had been tempted to regret the luxuries and the wines of
Egypt in which she had formerly indulged. These and other assaults
beset her night and day almost unremittingly for 17 years, but she had
implored the intercession of the Bl. Virgin and the divine assistance
had never failed her. She could not read, and had never had any human instruction in holy things, but God Himself had taught her the
mysteries of faith. At her request, Zosimus undertook not to divulge
what she had said until after her death, and promised to meet her
again beside the Jordan on the Maundy Thursday of the following year
to give her holy communion.

The next Lent, Zosimus made his way to the selected meeting-place,
bearing the Blessed Sacrament, and that same Maundy Thursday evening
beheld Mary standing on the opposite bank of Jordan. After she had
made the sign of the cross, she proceeded to walk upon the water until
she reached dry ground beside the astonished priest. She received
communion with deep devotion, following it by the recitation of the
opening words of the Nunc dimittis. From a basket of dates, figs and
lentils which Zosimus offered, she would accept only 3 lentils; and
she thanked him for all he had done and commended herself to his
prayers. Then, with a final entreaty that he would return a year later
to the spot where they had first met, she departed over the river as
she had come. But when Zosimus went back into the desert to keep this
2nd appointment, he found Mary's dead body stretched out upon the
ground, whilst beside her on the sand were traced these words: =E2=80=9CFat= her
Zosimus, bury the body of lowly Mary. Render earth to earth and pray
for me. I died the night of the Lord's Passion, after receiving the
divine and mystic Banquet.=E2=80=9D The monk had no spade, but a lion from = the
desert came to his assistance and with its claws helped him to dig her
grave. Zosimus resumed his mantle, which he treasured henceforth as a
holy relic, and returned to tell his brethren all his experiences. He
continued for many years to serve God in his monastery until a happy
death released him in his 100th year .

This legend has had a remarkable diffusion and popularity in the East.
In its developed form it seems to have been the composition of St.
Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, who died in 638. Besides the
digression referred to above, which Cyril of Scythopolis introduced
into his Life of St. Cyriacus, Sophronius had before him a somewhat
similar story told by John Moschus in the Pratum Spirituale. This
nucleus was elaborated into a narrative of respectable dimensions with
the aid of sundry borrowings front the Life of St. Paul of Thebes. St.
John Damascene, who died in the middle of the 8th century, makes long quotations from the developed Life of St. Mary of Egypt and apparently
regarded it as an authentic record.


Saint Quote:
Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no
conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife.
-- Pope Saint Leo the Great

Bible Quote:
"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross daily and follow me." (Lk. 9:23).

In this brief counsel you will find a summary of His divine doctrine,
and the secret of attaining the perfection taught in the Gospel. Thus,
while the body may be a prey to hardships and labors, the soul will
enjoy a paradise of peace, and this interior sweetness will enable you cheerfully to embrace all the sufferings of the exterior life.


<><><><>
Prayer At The Elevation
"My Lord and my God!"


Hail! most blessed Jesus,
eternal Son of the Most High God,
O deign to be merciful to those for whom we pray;
Thou Who didst expire on the cross for their sakes,
give rest to their souls.
To whom shall we turn, but to Thee?
Thou hast the words of the eternal life,
by which Thou canst shorten their sufferings,
and give them eternal rest.
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)