Redeemed Chastity (St. Mary Magdalene)
- 14.875″ × 30″
- acrylic on wood
“And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
— Mark 14:9
“... Mary who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth.”
— Luke 8:2
“By Luke alone, the ‘sinner’ Mary Magdalen and Mary of Bethany cannot be confirmed co-identical. John (11:2) identifies Mary of Bethany with the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet.”
— Fr Hugh Pope, OP
“Ideal physical beauty is an expression of the Divine. The Heaven-residing, re-perfected beauty of the Magdalen is the sign of redeemed woman, the redeemed chastity, producing the paradox of ‘sensuous and chaste’ which is alone primordial to Mary of Nazareth.”
— JST
“Her comportment was of purity and modesty, and when I approached her with praise of her very great beauty, she demurred chastely that her beauty now is not for men but for God alone.”
— DFAL
Icon of the Magdalen: God’s Lover
St. Mary Magdalene appeared with the symbols of the Passion – the symbols of her mission during the Passion.
Though clasping bloody cloth, she smiles because she lives in the Resurrection of the Lord.
Mary of Jesus lives in the eternal Resurrection.
“Even when she was on earth she did not live focusing on the dead, on her sins, on the persecutions, but always looking forward to live in the eternal Resurrection with the Lord; always looking forward to live with Her beloved eternally.”
— DFAL
The following words are from Jesus to Maria Valtorta in the vision titled “Mary Cannot Suffer Anymore, but She Can Still Love”, The Notebooks of 1944, March 30:
Farewell.
You have thus seen the complete cycle of the Magdalene, from her death to the Life. Of all the resurrected people of My Gospel, she is the greatest. She was raised from seven deaths. She was reborn. You have seen her raise the stalk of her new flower higher and higher above the mud of the earth, like a flowery plant, and then bloom and smell sweetly for Me, and die for Me. You have seen her when she was a sinner, then when thirsty she approached the Fountain, then when she repented, then when she was forgiven, then you saw her as a lover, then as a pitiful woman bent over the slain body of her Lord, then as a servant of my Mother, Whom she loves because She is My Mother; and finally you have seen her as a repentant soul at the threshold of her Paradise. Oh souls who are afraid, learn not to be afraid of Me by reading the life of Mary of Magdala. Oh souls who love, learn from her how to love with seraphic ardor. Oh souls who have erred, learn from her the Science that will prepare you for Heaven.
- What does the martyr give?
- His life out of love for his God.
- What does the penitent give?
- His life out of love for his God.
- What does the lover give?
- His life out of love for his God.
See there is no difference. Martyrdom, penance, and love consummate the same sacrifice for the same purpose.
(for private use)
Litany of St. Mary Magdalene
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Christ hear us, Christ graciously hear us;
Saint Mary, Mother of God, pray for us;
Blessed Virgin, Daughter of the Eternal Father, pray for us;
Maria Most Faithful, Bride of the Holy Ghost, pray for us.Mary of Magdala, pray for us;
Sister of Martha and Lazarus, pray for us;
Mary of Jesus, pray for us;
Penitent woman, pray for us;
Sincere contrition, pray for us;
Enlightened faith, pray for us;
Receiving the parable, pray for us;
Believing in mercy, pray for us;
Willing transformation, pray for us;
Rejecting vanity, pray for us;
Renouncing vice, pray for us;
Abandoning lust, pray for us;
For whom Jesus came before all others, pray for us;
Washing His Feet with tears, pray for us;
Weeping unto salvation, pray for us;
Cleansed by repentance, pray for us;
Cleansed by love, pray for us;
Cleansed by seraphic fire, pray for us;
Certain of the Savior’s forgiveness, pray for us;
Rising in prayer, pray for us;
Desire to understand the light of God, pray for us;
Anointer of the Christ, pray for us;
Rendering last honor to the Body of The Shepherd, pray for us;
Greeting first Grace Risen, pray for us;
Apostle to the apostles, pray for us;
Messenger of Resurrection, pray for us;
Patroness of preachers, pray for us;
Seraph of confidence, pray for us;
Seraph of courage, pray for us;
Seraph of modesty, pray for us;
Seraph of humility, pray for us;
Seraph of adoration, pray for us;
Seraph of discernment, pray for us;
Cured by the Divine Hand, pray for us;
Redeemed chastity, pray for us;
Revived dignity, pray for us;
Flesh become soul, pray for us;
Heart reborn to grace, pray for us;
Triumph of conversion, pray for us;
Helper of the lost, pray for us;
Minister to the addicted, pray for us;
Advocate of the possessed, pray for us;
Cherisher of the One Only Thing, pray for us;
Contemplating Silence, pray for us;
Who loved much, pray for us.Verse: Saint Mary Magdalene, intercede for us with thy Divine Master we beg,
Response: That we may come to share thy happiness in Heaven.Let us pray.
St. Mary of Magdala, whose homage of charity
was graciously accepted by the Rabbi of Nazareth,
pray that we may be instilled with that persevering love
with which thou clung resolutely to Christ the Master,
Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit one God forever and ever.
Amen.
