Tractatus Alter, Pars Prior, Cap. 5. De magna compunctione sanctae Mariae Magdalenae in passione Dominu

Tractatus Alter, Pars Prior, Cap. 5. De magna compunctione sanctae Mariae Magdalenae in passione Dominu

Eternal praise and glory be to you, O sweetest Jesus Christ, for the greatest sanctity of Mary Magdalene and her devoted lamentation in your most sacred and bitter passion, for she did not merely follow you in life and walk with you through towns and villages to see your signs and miracles, which you performed with divine power, worthy of all praise and honor, but she also steadfastly followed you and lamented in your passion all the way to the death of the cross, along with your holy mother Mary and many other devoted holy women who mourned for you and wept bitterly on the way because of your innocent death and the most grievous cross. So long as she could see you, she followed the cross, weeping, groaning, and grieving, considering the footprints of your feet, compressing her hands, striking her chest, soaking her face with abundant tears, and wiping her eyes. For she valued nothing more than to grieve deeply and to weep bitterly day and night, constantly recalling your sufferings. Indeed, he regarded all your wounds as his own, and the more he loved you, the more intensely he grieved and wept. When she saw you, naked and affixed to the cross, she stood by the cross with your mother, daring to draw closer, and, deeply afflicted by multiple pains, she did not withdraw from the cross for any reason of the world, but remained faithfully by you and your mother even unto death. Seeing you dying on the cross with a loud cry, she was failing from the overwhelming pain of compassion for you. Food and drink left his mouth. Sleep has vanished from my eyes. It seemed bitter to live any longer in this world without you. If you had completely submitted yourself to your will, you would hardly have been able to endure to remain in the body after your death. Her frequent laments show that without your presence, nothing in this life was pleasant for her. But, Mary, hold on a little longer in this great need with the mother of Jesus and her sisters because of the love for your beloved hanging on the cross. Don't abandon your mother; don't turn away from the side of that most sorrowful virgin, the mother of Jesus, as if you couldn't bear to witness such great lamentation and hear such wailing. Mourn with those who mourn, weep with those who weep, so that you may rejoice with those who rejoice in the glory of the risen one. O good and most loving Jesus, Mary acted as you inspired, as you foretold and commanded, so that she would keep the ointment until your burial, which had remained. She hasn't forgotten your words, nor did she sell that which you advised her to keep, but she preserved it in alabaster and has bought even more to prepare for you. A true friend is proven in times of need, and the proof of love is shown through actions. Therefore, this most faithful holy Mary, just as she loved you in life, so she showed it through her actions in your death and in the burial with great lamentation and diligent care. She left nothing out that pertained to the duty of your sacred burial, wrapping, anointing, covering, binding, sewing the linen cloths and the head cloth for a fitting adornment, reverently placing them upon your holy head. Amid all this, she wept continuously and found solace, because she had the privilege of being present to you and your mother, along with the others who were there, and she saw everything being done around you in the right way. So, with your most holy body buried and under a firm, sealed monument, a new pain and lament arose, as if from now on it should not see you in this light, with whom it once had such a great companionship of spiritual life and joy. Yet, even with the tomb closed, it could not immediately withdraw from the place where the treasure of the world lay hidden, but sat there until sunset with many devoted women, lamenting, until the tears in them ran dry with heartfelt sighs, just as it is written of them: "The women sitting by the tomb were lamenting, weeping for the Lord." O, who will grant me the compassion to meditate on your sacred passion, my Lord Jesus Christ, like the devoted Mary Magdalene had on the day of preparation, when she saw you crucified, dying, and buried, and seemingly despised, mocked, and scorned by all? But thanks to you, most patient Jesus, this false rumor about you didn't last long; after three days you conquered and put your enemies to shame by rising free from the dead. Truly, Lord, your word has been fulfilled, which you spoke about Mary Magdalene before your disciples, in praise of her benefactor: Amen, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed throughout the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her. Truly, the whole house, that is, the entire church of the faithful, has been filled with the fragrance of her ointment, which has spread widely throughout the world, clearly imbued with apostolic teachings and firmly established in divine truth. For the great fame of her holiness has been described by the apostles and evangelists, and subsequently made known by preachers and teachers. Moreover, the glorious feast of his devotion is celebrated and honored every year in the holy church by all the clergy and the people of both sexes, in which the most blessed soul of hers departed from this world to you, our Lord Jesus Christ, into your eternal tabernacles. Amen.