On the first of April, the Church celebrates the memory of St. Mary the Egyptian. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, this famous sinner from Alexandria converted to God in the Holy City and consecrated herself to a penitent and austere life beyond the Jordan.
Newsroom (04/04/2024 14:25, Gaudium Press) St. Mary the Egyptian, also called the Sinner, led a life of repentance and privation in the desert for 47 years. She told her story to Abbot Zozimus, who met her one day.
When he asked her to tell him who she was and where she came from, that strange figure of a woman, dark and tanned 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, your ears will be tainted 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 lived a bad life there. But one day, when some of the inhabitants of that city were going on a pilgrimage to worship the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, I asked the sailors to let me come on board too.
“And so the journey was made. But behold, in Jerusalem, as I stood with the other pilgrims at the door of the church, I felt repelled by an invisible force that did 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, without anything stopping them. When I returned to the hostel, I realized that this was a consequence of my criminal life. Then I began to hurt myself, to shed bitter tears, and to sigh from the depths of my heart. Then, seeing an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the wall, I begged Her to obtain forgiveness of my 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 once again I presented myself at the doors of the church; I was then 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 telling me to cross the Jordan and come to this desert, where I have lived for 46 years, without ever having seen a human figure, feeding on the three loaves of bread I brought with me, which, having become hard as stone, are still sufficient for my nourishment. As for my clothes, they were torn to shreds a long time ago, and for the first 17 years of my stay in the desert I was plagued by temptations. But now, by the grace of God, I have overcome them completely. Here is my story. I have told it so that you may ask God for me.”
Then the old man fell to the ground and blessed the Lord in the person of His servant. And she said to him, “Listen to what I am going to ask of you: on the day of the Passover, cross the Jordan again, bringing a Consecrated Host with you. I will wait on the shore and receive the Body of the Lord from your hands, because I have not received Communion since I came here.”
The old man returned to his monastery and the following year, as the feast of Easter approached, he returned to the Jordan carrying a Consecrated Host. Behold, he saw the woman standing on the other bank and, having made the sign of the Cross over the water, she walked across it and thus reached the old man.
St. Mary the Egyptian was so high in God’s love that, in order to receive Communion, she walked on water. God forgave everything, forgot everything, became completely loving towards her, and she lived in the most intimate relationship with divine grace imaginable.
The old man, amazed, wanted to prostrate himself 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 next year.”
The following year, Zózimo could not find her on the bank. He crossed the river and went to the place where he had first seen her. There he found her dead, lying on the sand. He wept bitterly and did not dare touch her remains. And while he was thinking about how to bury her, he read an inscription on the sand: “Zozimo, bury my body, give my remains to the earth and pray to the Lord for me, for I was delivered from the world on the second day of April.”
So the old man dug a grave for her, miraculously helped by a lion who appeared there, and then the old man returned to the monastery glorifying God.
By repenting of her sin, St. Mary the Egyptian reached the pinnacle 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 brings our souls closer to Our Lady.
Text extracted, with adaptations, from Dr. Plinio Magazine, April 2012.
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm