July 22, 2026
Summary of the Morrow's Meditation
We will meditate tomorrow upon the great love which St. Mary Magdalene felt for Jesus Christ, and we shall see that it was: 1st, a love prompt for sacrifice; 2d, a humble love; 3d, a generous love. We will then make the resolution: 1st, to be determined once for all to entertain a true love for Our Saviour, confessing that we have not hitherto loved Him sufficiently; 2d, not to refuse to our gracious Saviour any of the sacrifices His grace may require from us. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of Jesus Christ respecting Mary Magdalene: "Many sins are forgiven her because she hath loved much" (Luke vii. 47).
Meditation for the Morning
Let us admire the great mercy of God the Son towards Mary Magdalene. She had greatly sinned; and Jesus Christ, far from repelling her from Him because of her great sins, has compassion on her; His grace goes in search of her in the midst of her wanderings, like the good shepherd who goes in search of the sheep who has wandered from the fold; He calls her, and she comes. O goodness! O love! O infinite mercy! how worthy art thou of all our praise, of all our admiration, of all our love! Let us bless this tenderness of God towards poor sinners, and at the same time let us congratulate Mary Magdalene on her docility to the grace which called her.
FIRST POINT
St. Mary Magdalene Entertained towards Jesus a Love which was Prompt in Making Sacrifices
As soon as the first rays of grace had enlightened the soul of Mary Magdalene and enabled her to see in Jesus her Saviour and her God, she hastens immediately in search of Him. She hears that He is at the house of Simon the Pharisee. Does she wait until He has left and she can speak to Him secretly? No, she cannot remain one moment longer in a state of sin, or bear to be an object of hatred to her God. Without any delay, and treading under foot all human respect, she rises; love seems to give her wings, and she flies to the dwelling of Simon the Pharisee, taking with her an alabaster vase, full of exquisite perfumes which had been destined for the satisfaction of her sensuality. She falls at the feet of Jesus, she breaks the vase, and pours the perfume with her tears upon the sacred feet of Jesus, dries them with her hair, and kisses them with the most tender and loving affection, sacrificing at once human respect, the vanity of her hair, and the refinements of her sensuality. She is still in the flower of her age; her days flow on happily according to worldly ideas, in the midst of all that gives pleasure, amusement, and distraction, of all that is the charm of life, that flatters the senses, self-love, and the passion for pleasure. But nothing of that kind stops her; she makes an eternal divorce from the world, that she may attach herself to Jesus, to Jesus alone, to Jesus with her whole heart, and in order to do so she counts all sacrifices as naught. Is it thus that we are prompt in allowing ourselves to be led by grace, prompt in making to God all the sacrifices He asks of us, without ever drawing back in the presence of any human consideration, of the repugnance of nature, of self-love, or for the sake of what the world will say? Alas! what delays! what resistance! Let us humble ourselves and be converted on this holy day.
SECOND POINT
St. Mary Magdalene's Love for Jesus was Humble
Mary Magdalene does not pride herself upon the goodness of Jesus towards her; she does not esteem herself any the more because she is more loved, because she is converted, and because her love is greater; she is always filled with the most humble sentiments in regard to herself; she is ashamed at having loved a God so amiable so late; she despises herself, and accepts the contempt of every creature as being her due. She knows that the step she has taken in going to the house of Simon the Pharisee, and presenting herself before a great number of brilliant guests, will render her an object of censure to the whole assembly, the object of public ridicule, and her name a by-word in Judea. It does not signify. Never, in her own opinion, will she receive enough of shame and contempt. On her entrance into Simon's house she prostrates herself on her knees, and then draws near to the Saviour, not in front of Him,—she deems herself to be unworthy to look at Him,—but she keeps behind Him, and kisses, not His adorable face, but His sacred feet (Luke vii. 38), and waters them with her tears, bitterly regretting her past life; and the blood of her heart flows from her eyes. Happy tears, which extinguish the fire of concupiscence in her, drown her sins, chase away the demons, and rejoice the angels! Let us thence learn that our love ought always to be accompanied by shame and humility. Let us learn to be content to be at the feet of Jesus, cast down by the feeling of our littleness and our unworthiness, and not be ambitious for the extraordinary graces which God bestows upon elect souls. It is enough to be suffered in His presence, without His raising us to the kiss of His mouth and the holy joys of His divine Spirit.
THIRD POINT
St. Mary Magdalene had a Generous Love for Jesus
Possessed with the love of her good Master, she follows Him as much as she can in His apostolic journeys, to receive the instructions which issue from His adorable mouth and to serve Him in all His needs. When the divine Saviour visits her at Bethania, she can think only of Him, occupy herself only with Him, and on her knees before Him she listens to Him with delight; He is everything to her heart. When, at the season of the Passion, He is raised upon the cross, she is there, together with the Blessed Virgin, that she may console Him if she cannot defend Him, and she braves with intrepidity the mockery and the insults of the people. When He has breathed His last sigh, she purchases perfumes to embalm His body, and the same night she hastens with such eagerness to perform this pious duty that she reaches the tomb before the rising of the sun (John xx. 1). The apostles come in their turn, and not finding Jesus there, they return; but Mary remains; love keeps her there (John xx. 11); and, inconsolable as she is, she asks men and angels for her good Master. "They have taken away my Lord," she says; "tell me where they have laid Him, that I may go and take Him away" (John xx. 13, 15). Could there be a love more generous? Lastly, Jesus shows Himself to her; she casts herself at His feet, and will not be separated from Him any more; but Jesus desires her to go and announce His resurrection to the apostles, and she sacrifices the sweetness of her interview to obedience. After Pentecost her generous love does more still; she sets out with Lazarus, her brother, and Martha, her sister, to evangelize the Gauls; she evangelizes them by her words and still more by her example, leading a life of mortification and penance, lying upon the bare ground, passing a portion of the day and night in prayer, having as her asylum nothing but a grotto in a rock, which is known at the present day by the name of Sainte Baume. May such generous love as hers confound our cowardice, which always wishes to enjoy without ever suffering, to live at its ease and never have any annoyance. No, that is not to love!
Resolutions and Spiritual Nosegay as above