A famous Alexandrian sinner who, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, converted to God in the Holy City and consecrated herself to a life of penance and austerity beyond the Jordan.

Newsdesk (Gaudium Press) ​​Saint Mary of Egypt, also called ‘the Sinner’, led a life of repentance and privation in the desert for 47 years. She herself told her story to Abbot Zozimus, who met her one day.

On being asked by the religious to tell him who she was and where she came from, that strange figure of a woman, her skin blackened by the sun, replied:

“Father, forgive me, but if I reveal to you who I am, you will flee as at the sight of a serpent and your ears will be stained by my words and you will be defiled by my impurity. My name is Mary and I was born in Egypt. I came to Alexandria when I was 12 years old, and for 17 years I led a bad life there. But one day, as some inhabitants of that city were making a pilgrimage to adore the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, I asked the sailors to let me embark as well.

“And so the voyage was made. But behold, in Jerusalem, as I stood with the other pilgrims at the door of the church, I felt that I was repelled by an invisible force that would not allow me to enter the temple. Twenty times I approached the doors and twenty times this invisible force held me back, while all the others entered freely, with nothing to stop them. So much so that, returning to the hostel, I understood that this was a consequence of my sinful life. I began to beat myself, to shed bitter tears, to sigh from the depths of my heart. But then, seeing an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the wall, I begged her to obtain for me the forgiveness of sins and permission to enter the church to adore the Holy Cross. In return, I promised to renounce the world and live in chastity.

“This prayer gave me confidence and again I presented myself at the doors of the church; this time I was able to enter without any hindrance. And while I was piously adoring the Holy Cross, a stranger gave me three coins, with which I bought three loaves of bread. And I heard a voice saying to me to cross the Jordan and come into this desert, where I have lived for 46 years without ever having seen a human figure, feeding myself with the three loaves of bread that I brought with me, which, having become hard as flint, are still sufficient for my nourishment. As for my clothes, they long ago fell to pieces, and during the first 17 years of my sojourn in the desert I was tormented by temptations. But for the moment, by God’s grace, I have entirely conquered them. Here is my story. I have told it to you that you may plead to God for me.”

Then the old man, prostrating himself on the ground, blessed the Lord in the person of this His servant. And she said to him, “Listen to what I am about to ask of you: on the day of the Passover, cross the Jordan again, bringing with you a consecrated host. I will wait on the shore and receive from your hands the Body of the Lord, for I have not taken Communion since I came here.”

The venerable monk returned to his monastery and the following year, when the Feast of the Passover was near, he returned to the Jordan, taking a consecrated host with him. He saw the woman standing on the other bank, and having made the Sign of the Cross on the water, she walked upon it and thus reached the old abbot.

Saint Mary of Egypt was so elevated in the love of God that, in order to receive Communion, she walked on water. God forgave everything, forgot everything, made Himself completely Love for her, and she lived in the most intimate union with Divine Grace imaginable.

The old man, amazed, wanted to prostrate humbly at her feet, but she said to him: “My Father, beware of prostrating yourself before me, especially now that you are carrying the Body of Christ. But deign to return again next year.”

The following year, Zozimus did not find her on the bank. He crossed the river and went to the place where he had first seen her. And there he found her dead, lying on the sand. So he wept bitterly and dared not touch her remains. And while he was thinking of how to bury her, he read an inscription on the sand: “Zozimus, bury my body, give my ashes to the earth and plead for me to the Lord, for I was delivered from this world on the second day of April.”

So the old man opened a grave for her, being miraculously assisted in this by a lion, which appeared there. And he returned to the monastery glorifying God.

Through repentance of her sin, Saint Mary of Egypt reached the summit of love. Let us ask her to give us a true contrition for our sins, but a contrition in peace, without scruples; a truly holy contrition that will bring our souls closer to Our Lady.

Text extracted, with adaptations, from Dr. Plinio Magazine, April 2012.

Compiled by Roberta MacEwan