ORATIO LXXIV [ol. LXXIII]. AD SANCTAM MARIAM MAGDALENAM, Cum retractatione amoris ad Christum.

The Sinner's Plea to Magdalene

The penitent soul addresses Mary Magdalene, recalling her tears, mercy, and justification, and confessing his own despairing bondage to sin.

Holy Mary Magdalene, who came with a fountain of tears to the fountain of mercy, Christ — you who burned with thirst and were abundantly refreshed by him, the sinner who was justified through him, she who grieved most bitterly and was most sweetly consoled by him. You, my dearest lady, know from your own experience how a sinful soul is reconciled to its Creator — what counsel profits a wretched soul, what medicine restores health to the one who is languishing. For we know well enough, dear friend of God, to whom many sins were forgiven, because she loved much. Most wicked as I am, most blessed lady — I do not retract your sins by reproaching them; rather, I ponder the immensity of that mercy by which they were wiped away, and through it I breathe again so I won't despair, and toward it I sigh so I won't perish — I, who have been hurled miserably into the depth of vices, weighed down by the excessive burden of my crimes, thrust by my own hand into the dark prison of sins, and wrapped in the darkness of torpor.

The Request for Intercession

The speaker asks Magdalene to remember her own need and to obtain for him compunction, humility, and the grace to draw from the fountain of mercy.

So then, chosen lover and chosen beloved of God, I, a wretch, ask you, blessed one — in my darkness, you who were enlightened; in my sin, you who were justified; in my uncleanness, you who were cleansed. Remember, most kind one, what you once were and how much mercy you needed, and ask pardon for me, just as you wished it to be shown to you. Obtain for me the compunction of devotion, the tears of humility, a desire for the heavenly homeland, a loathing of earthly exile, the bitterness of repentance, and a fear of eternal torment. Let the intimate friendship you had and still have at the fountain of mercy be my help, dearest one. Draw for me from that same source, so that I may wash away my sins. Offer me a drink from it, so that my thirst may be satisfied. Pour into me from it, so that my dryness may be watered — for it won't be hard for you to obtain whatever you wish from your most beloved and sweetest Lord and friend.

Christ's Tender Defense of His Beloved

The speaker recalls how Christ defended Mary Magdalene against the Pharisee, her sister, and Judas, and how he came to her at the tomb with hidden yet revealing tenderness.

For who can explain, O blessed bride of God, with what tender familiarity and intimate kindness he himself — answering on your behalf to those who slandered you — stood against them; how piously he defended you when the proud Pharisee raged against you; how he himself excused you when your sister complained about you; how he praised your work while Judas murmured against you?^✦^✦ What then — what shall I say, or rather how shall I say it? For burning with love of him, you wept as you sought him at the tomb, and seeking him you wept.^✦ How warmly, how kindly he came to console you — yet he inflamed you all the more: he hid himself from you as you looked, yet revealed himself to you as you could not see; and there he was, present — the very one you were seeking — asking you whom you were seeking, and why you were weeping.^✦

The Goad of Grief at the Tomb

The speaker marvels that the crucified and risen Lord asks Mary why she weeps, recognizing that his question deepens her grief even as it prepares her consolation.

But — O you, most devout Lord — why do you yourself ask why she weeps? Had she not seen you — her own heart, the sweet life of her own soul — cruelly slain? O astonishing devotion! Alas, horrendous impiety! When you hung stretched out on a wooden cross, pierced with iron nails, like a bandit held up to the mockery of the wicked — and you say: Woman, why do you weep?^✦^✦ And because she could not help you — lest they kill you — she wanted to preserve your body with ointments for a long time, lest it rot: so that, since she could not speak to you while you were alive, she might at least weep over you dead; and the life-giving teaching she had heard from you while you were alive, she might recite beside your dead body, hating life, in broken words. And now, on top of that, the very body she had rejoiced to have left with her — she believes it is lost. And you say: Woman, why do you weep?^✦^✦ O goad of grief!

The Gardener Who Planted Love

The speaker reflects on Mary's total loss of hope and on Christ's knowing cultivation of her love, questioning whether he was watering or testing her heart.

With her own eyes she had seen — if she could even bear to look — what the cruel ones had done to you in their cruelty; and the work of their hands, as she believed, she had lost. All hope in you now flees, because she could not even keep your remains to hold your memory; and someone asks, 'Whom do you seek? Why do you weep?'^✦ At least you — O her singular joy — why do you stir up her grief? For you yourself knew it, and you willed it to happen this way, because she could not tell the cause of such great weeping except by constantly breaking off her words and bursting forth with redoubled groans. For you were not unaware of the love that you yourself were breathing into her. Surely you, the gardener, knew what you had planted in your garden — her own soul.^✦ I believe that what you had planted, you were watering. You were watering — shall I say, or were you putting it to the test?

The Beloved Cannot Wait

The speaker pleads with Christ not to delay consoling his handmaid, affirming that his immortal compassion has not diminished and that loving devotion cannot endure her groaning.

But — to put it more truly — you were both watering and proving her, weren't you? But, O good Lord — O kind teacher — here is your faithful handmaid and disciple, recently redeemed by your blood: look, she burns and is tormented with longing for you; she looks around, she asks everywhere, and the one she desires appears nowhere: whatever she sees is displeasing to her, because she does not see you alone, whom her soul beholds. What then? Will her beloved Lord put up with this much longer? Have you lost your compassion now that you've found your incorruption? Have you lost your tender care now that you've gained immortality? Far be it, O Lord! For you do not despise us mortals because you have become immortal — for whose sake you became mortal in order to make us immortal: truly, loving devotion can no longer endure her groaning or tolerate her hiding herself.

The Voice That Calls Her Name

The speaker contemplates the moment Christ speaks Mary's name, the sweetness she recognizes, and the mutual knowledge between Lord and handmaid.

The sweetness of the one who loves breaks through, so that the bitterness of the one who weeps may not break through. The Lord speaks the handmaid's accustomed name, and the handmaid recognizes the Lord's accustomed voice. I think — or rather, I'm certain — that Mary sensed the familiar sweetness by which she had been accustomed to being called. O delightful voice! O how much tenderness! How much love she tasted! Neither more briefly nor more quickly could this be expressed. I know who you are and what you want.

From Tears of Sorrow to Tears of Joy

The speaker celebrates Christ's words 'Here I am' and the transformation of Mary's grief into joy, contrasting her anguished cry with her glad testimony.

Here I am — don't weep.^✦ Here I am — the one you're looking for.^✦ At once her tears were changed — and I don't believe they were stopped for long. No, the tears that her crushed heart had first wrung out through its own torment, her heart now poured forth again, rejoicing and exulting. O how unlike each other they are — 'Rabboni!' and 'If you've carried him off, tell me!'^✦ O how they clash with each other — 'They've taken my Lord, and I don't know where they've laid him!' and then that other cry: 'I've seen the Lord — and he said these things to me!'^✦^✦

The Penitent's Own Offering and Final Prayer

The speaker confesses his own inadequacy, offers a crushed heart to Christ, begs for the bread of tears, invokes both Marys, and concludes with a Trinitarian doxology.

But what — how can I, a wretch without any feeling, presume to put into words the affection of God and of his blessed friend? For how can a heart pour forth a good fragrance when it has no flavor within?^✦ But you know me from within, O Truth; you are my witness, my Lord, my sweetest Jesus — because it is with the love of your love that I do this. I long to kindle your love in me, because I desire to love you alone and what you command; to offer you in sacrifice a crushed spirit, a broken and humbled heart. Give me, Lord, in this exile the bread of grief and of tears — the bread I hunger for beyond any abundance of delights.^✦ Hear me, for the sake of your love and the dear merits of your beloved Mary, and of your most blessed and greatest mother Mary. Do not, most holy Redeemer Jesus, do not despise the prayer of your unworthy sinner, but strengthen the effort of your weak lover. Shake the lukewarmness from my heart, and through the fervor of your love, grant me to reach the eternal contemplation of your glory, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit live and reign, God, through all ages of ages.^✦ Amen.

Read the original Latin

Sancta Maria Magdalena, quae cum fonte lacrymarum ad fontem misericordiae Christum venisti, de quo ardenter sitiens abundanter es refocillata, per quem peccatrix es justificata, a quo amarissime dolens dulcissime es consolata. Tu, domina mea charissima, per temetipsam es experta qualiter peccatrix anima Creatori suo reconcilietur, quod consilium miserae animae expediat, quae medicina languenti salutem restituat. Satis enim scimus, chara amica Dei, cui dimissa sunt peccata multa, quoniam dilexit multum. Non ego sceleratissimus, domina beatissima, non ego sceleratissimus peccata tua improperando retracto; sed immensitatem clementiae, per quam deleta sunt, pertracto; et per eam respiro ne desperem, et ad eamdem suspiro ne peream; ego, inquam, miserabiliter in profundum vitiorum praecipitatus, ego nimio pondere criminum gravatus, ego in obscuro carcere peccatorum a memetipso detrusus, et in torporis tenebris obvolutus.

Ergo, electa dilectrix, et dilecta electrix Dei, ego miser rogo te beatam, tenebrosus illuminatam, peccator justificatam, immundus mundatam. Memento, benignissima, quid fuisti, et quantum misericordia indiguisti, et postula mihi indulgentiam, sicut eam tibi fieri voluisti. Impetra mihi compunctionem pietatis, lacrymas humilitatis, patriae coelestis desiderium, terreni exsilii fastidium, poenitentiae amaritudinem, aeterni cruciatus timorem. Prosit mihi, charissima, familiaris conversatio, quam habuisti et habes circa fontem misericordiae; hauri mihi ab illo unde lavem peccata mea; propina mihi de illo unde satietur sitis mea; infunde mihi de illo unde irrigetur ariditas mea: non enim erit tibi difficile quidquid volueris obtinere a dilectissimo et suavissimo domino, et amico tuo.

Quis enim explicet, o beata sponsa Dei, quam benigna familiaritate et familiari benignitate, ipse calumniantibus te, respondendo pro te, se opponebat; quam pie, superbo Pharisaeo de te indignante, ipse te defendebat; quomodo ipse te excusabat, sorore tua de te conquerente; qualiter ipse opus tuum laudabat, Juda in te fremente? Quid denique, quid dicam, vel potius quomodo dicam, cum ejus amore flagrans eum ad monumentum quaerendo flebas, et flendo quaerebas? Quam affabiliter, quam amicabiliter te, quam consolari venerat, magis accendebat; cum ipse se celabat videnti, et ostendebat non videnti; dum praesens ipse quem quaerebas, quem quaereres et cur fleres quaerebat.

Sed, o tu, piissime Domine, tu cur quaeris quid plorat? nonne viderat te cor suum, et dulcem vitam animae suae, crudeliter mactari? o stupenda pietas! heu horrenda impietas! cum in quodam ligno extensus et ferreis clavis confixus penderes, velut latro ad ludibrium impiorum: et dicis: Mulier, cur ploras? et quia nequivit juvare, ne te occiderent; vel corpus tuum volebat unguentis diu servare, ne putresceret: ut quia vivo loqui non posset, saltem mortuum flere posset; et vitalem doctrinam, quam a vivo audierat, juxta mortuum exosa vitam semifractis verbis recitaret. Nunc insuper ipsum corpus, quod utcunque gaudebat sibi dimissum, credit amissum: et dicis: Mulier, quid ploras? O incitatio luctus!

oculis suis viderat (si tamen aspicere potuit), quae crudeles in te crudeliter fecerant; et residuum manuum eorum, ut putabat, perdiderat. Omnis spes de te jam fugit quia nec reliquias tuas ad tui memoriam tenere potuit: et quaerit aliquis, quem quaeris, quid ploras? Saltem tu, o singulare gaudium ejus, cur concitas dolorem ejus? ipse enim sciebas, et sic fieri volebas, quia causam tanti ploratus narrare posset, nisi crebro verba interrumpendo et ingeminatos gemitus erumpendo. Non enim amorem ignorabas, quem ipse inspirabas. Noveras utique tu hortulanus ille, quid plantaveras in horto tuo animae suae. Puto quia quod plantaveras, rigabas. Rigabas, dicam an probabas?

Sed, ut verius dicam, et rigabas et probabas? Sed, o bone Domine; o benigne magister, ecce fidelis ancilla et discipula tua nuperrime redempta sanguine tuo, ecce aestuat et anxiatur desiderio tui, circumspicit, interrogat, et nusquam apparet, quem desiderat: displicet ei quidquid videt, quia te solum quem aspicit non videt. Quid ergo? sufferet hoc diu Dominus meus dilectus ejus? An perdidisti compassionem, quia invenisti incorruptionem? An pietatem amisisti, quia immortalitatem acquisisti? Absit, Domine! non enim despicis nos mortales, quia factus es immortalis, pro quibus factus es mortalis, ut faceres immortales: quippe pia dilectio nec illam gementem, nec se latentem potest tolerare diutius.

Erumpit amantis dulcedo, ut non erumpat flentis amaritudo. Nominat Dominus consuetum ancillae nomen, et cognoscit ancilla consuetam Domini vocem. Puto, vel certe affirmo quia sensit solitam suavitatem, qua vocari consueverat, Maria. O vox delectabilis! o quantum blandimenti! quantum sapuit amoris! nec brevius nec celerius hoc exprimi potuit. Scio quae sis, et quid velis.

Ecce me, ne plores. Ecce me, quem quaeris. Illico mutatae sunt lacrymae: non enim credo mox esse restrictas: sed quas contritum cor se torquendo prius exprimebat, eas postmodum cor gaudens exsultando effundebat. O quam dissimilia sunt: Raboni; et: Si tu sustulisti eum, dicito mihi! O quam dissona sunt: Tulerunt Dominum meum, et nescio ubi posuerunt eum; et illud, quia vidi Dominum, et haec dixit mihi!

Sed quid ergo miser sine affectu praesumo exprimere affectum Dei, et beatae amicae Dei? Quomodo namque eructabit cor bonum odorem, unde intus non habet saporem? verum tu mihi conscia es, veritas: tu mihi testis es, Domine mi dulcissime Jesu, quia amore tui amoris hoc facio. Amorem tuum in me accendere cupio, quia te solum, et quod jubes, desidero amare; spiritum contribulatum, cor contritum et humiliatum tibi sacrificare. Da mihi, Domine, in hoc exsilio panem doloris et lacrymarum, quem esurio super copiam deliciarum. Exaudi me propter amorem et chara merita hujus tuae dilectae Mariae, et beatissimae matris tuae maximae Mariae. Noli, piissime Redemptor Jesu, noli despicere precem indigni peccatoris tui, sed adjuva conatum infirmi amatoris tui; excute cordis mei teporem, et per fervorem tui amoris, da mihi pertingere ad aeternam tuae gloriae contemplationem, qui cum Patre, et Spiritu sancto vivis et regnas Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Scripture echoes

↩Luke.7.36-Luke.7.50 — Now one of the Pharisees kept asking him to eat with him, and when Jesus entered the Pharisee's house, he reclined at table. Luke.7.37 — And behold, a woman who was in the city, a sinner, having learned that he was reclining in the house of the Pharisee, brought an alabaster flask of ointment Luke.7.38 — and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Luke.7.39 — Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is: that she is a sinner.' Luke.7.40 — And Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he said, "Teacher, speak." Luke.7.41 — There were two debtors to a certain lender; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Luke.7.42 — Since neither of them had the means to repay him, he graciously canceled the debt for both. Which of them, therefore, will love him more? Luke.7.43 — Simon answered and said, 'I suppose the one to whom the more was forgiven.' And he said to him, 'You have judged correctly.' Luke.7.44 — Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. Luke.7.45 — You gave me no kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet since I arrived. Luke.7.46 — You did not anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment. Luke.7.47 — Therefore I tell you, her many sins are forgiven, as her great love shows. But the one who is forgiven little loves little. Luke.7.48 — And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." Luke.7.49 — And those who were reclining with him began to say among themselves, 'Who is this who even forgives sins?' Luke.7.50 — But he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
↩John.12.1-John.12.8 — Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. John.12.2 — So they made a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. John.12.3 — Then Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John.12.4 — But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, the one who was about to betray him, said, John.12.5 — Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? John.12.6 — He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he held the money bag and used to steal what was put into it. John.12.7 — Jesus said, "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial." John.12.8 — The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.
↩John.20.11-John.20.16 — But Mary stood outside at the tomb, weeping. And as she wept, she bent down and looked into the tomb. John.20.12 — and she sees two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. John.20.13 — And they say to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She says to them, 'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.' John.20.14 — Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and she did not know that it was Jesus. John.20.15 — Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, thinking that he was the gardener, said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." John.20.16 — Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni" (which means "Teacher").
↩John.20.14-John.20.16 — Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and she did not know that it was Jesus. John.20.15 — Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, thinking that he was the gardener, said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." John.20.16 — Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni" (which means "Teacher").
↩John.20.13 — And they say to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She says to them, 'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.'
↩Luke.23.32-Luke.23.33 — Two others also, criminals, were led away with him to be executed. Luke.23.33 — And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals—one on his right and one on his left.
↩John.20.13 — And they say to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She says to them, 'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.'
↩John.20.15 — Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, thinking that he was the gardener, said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."
↩John.20.15 — Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, thinking that he was the gardener, said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."
↩John.20.15 — Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, thinking that he was the gardener, said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."
↩John.20.15 — Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, thinking that he was the gardener, said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."
↩John.20.15-John.20.16 — Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, thinking that he was the gardener, said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." John.20.16 — Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni" (which means "Teacher").
↩John.20.15-John.20.16 — Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, thinking that he was the gardener, said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." John.20.16 — Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni" (which means "Teacher").
↩John.20.13 — And they say to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She says to them, 'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.'
↩John.20.18 — Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and she told them these things that he had said to her.
↩Matt.12.34;Luke.6.45 — Offspring of vipers! How can you speak good things, being evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Luke.6.45 — The good person brings out good from the good treasure of the heart, and the evil person brings out evil from the evil treasure. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
↩Ps.79.6;Ps.80.5 — Pour out your wrath upon the nations that do not know you, and upon the kingdoms that do not call upon your name. Ps.80.5 — LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with the prayer of your people?
↩Rev.3.16 — So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

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