Ven Louis of Granada

Mary Magdalene

Although there are many paths to heaven, all of them can be reduced to two: that of innocence and that of repentance. The first is the way of those who have never sinned; the other is the way of those who, having sinned, have done penance for their sins. The former was the path followed by the Blessed Virgin, St. John the Baptist, and those who never committed a mortal sin; the latter is the path of all other human beings.

Apart from these two paths there is no other because all those who are eventually saved are either innocent or repentant sinners. And since each of these paths requires a guide, divine wisdom has provided two guides that are outstanding. They are the two Marys: Mary, the Mother of the Savior, who was the mirror of innocence; and Mary Magdalene, who was the mirror of repentance. Accordingly, all who travel by the path of innocence should keep their eyes fixed on the first Mary so that they may travel well. But those who travel by the way of repentance should fix their gaze on the second Mary and try to imitate her ardent spirit, her profound sorrow for sin, her vital faith, burning love, and disdain of the world. In this way they can judge whether their repentance is as it ought to be, for if they do not possess any of these characteristics, their repentance is not true repentance. Such would seem to be the case with those who have barely confessed their sins when they return to their former evil ways.

St. Luke says that a Pharisee once asked Christ to be his guest. Christ accepted the invitation and sat at table with him. In the same city there was a sinful woman whom many identify is the sister of Lazarus and Martha. She was called a sinful women because she was a woman of evil life and was known as such throughout the country.

O wisdom of God! One of the vilest things in the world is an evil woman, of whom Ecclesiasticus says that she "shall be trodden upon as dung in the way" [Ecclus. 9:10]. This being so, God cast His glance on this woman who was not worthy of His gaze, to make her an example of repentance and one of the greatest glories of the Church. What was the reason? None other than that given by the prophet: "He saved me because He was well pleased with me" [Ps 17:20]. In other words, He did it for the glory of His grace, as an example of His mercy, and as a manifestation of His goodness. Thus we would know that all our good proceeds from Him and all our blessings come from His hands. We should, therefore, attribute them to Him and seek them from Him. This realization will make us more humble, more dependent, more grateful, and more fearful; more humble because of our poverty, more dependent because of our many dangers, more grateful for his grace, and more fearful because of our weakness.

Magdalen had been moved by the teaching of Christ, illumined by his grace, and drawn to repentance. When she learned that Jesus was visiting the home of the Pharisee, the impetus of her sorrow and love impelled her to hasten to Him. She took a vase of precious ointment which she had purchased not to atone for sin but to multiply her own sins, not to anoint Christ but to offer sacrifice to the devil. With this instrument of sin she would make war against sin.

Magdalen entered the house where the Savior was dining but her shame at her sins did not give her the courage to stand before Christ. Rather, she walked behind the couch on which Jesus was reclining and kneeling, began to bathe His feet, shedding copious tears as she did so. Indeed, it seemed that her very tears washed His feet, and then she dried them with her long and beautiful hair. Not content with this, she began to kiss His feet and to anoint them with the precious ointment which she had brought for the purpose.

All the things she and formerly used in her slavery to the world, she now consecrated to the service of Christ; all the instruments of sin became remedies for sin. From her eyes poured forth a fountain of tears to wash the stains from her soul; her hair became a towel to wipe away her sins; the precious ointment became a balsam to cure the wounds of her soul and to counteract the odor of her sinful life.

Meanwhile, what she performed exteriorly was effected interiorly in her soul by the Savior. She anointed His feet with ointment and He anointed her soul with grace; she washed His feet with her tears and He washed the sins from her soul by His blood; she dried His feet with her hair and He adorned her soul with virtues; she kissed His feet lovingly and He bestowed on her the kiss of peace, as was given to the prodigal son on his return.

In all this it is not reported that any words were spoken between Christ and Mary Magdalen. Tears sufficed for speech and sighs and desires took the place of words. So David says: "Lord, all my desire is before Thee, and my groaning is not hidden from thee" [Ps 37:10].

O humble tears, says St. Jerome, yours is the power, yours is the kingdom. You are not fearful before the tribunal of the Judge; you silence all accusers. You conquer the invincible and tie the hands of the omnipotent. St. Bernard calls these tears the wine of angels because in them is the odor of life, the taste of grace, and the delight of pardon. I prefer to call them a divine perfume, for perfume is distilled not from one single herb or flower but from many. Such were the tears of Magdalen, which did not proceed from one cause or emotion, but from many for they were tears of faith, hope, love, sorrow, and devotion.

The cause of Magdalen’s conversion and repentance was that ray of light with which the Savior illumined the darkness of her soul. This light opened her eyes so that she could see the horrible spectacle of infernal monsters that surrounded her and she was so horrified by her dangerous position that she ran in search of a remedy. So it was that she set out in the middle of the day, without waiting for advice or the proper time, and thrust herself into the midst of the banquet in order to find Christ.

What are you doing, woman? Do you not realize that this is not the time or place for that which you intend to do? A person does not want witnesses or public places for these things, but darkness and solitude. This is what Nicodemus did when he came in the darkness of night to seek out Christ [Cf. Jn 3:2]. Nothing is lost if one waits another hour for this business.

But Magdalen heeds none of these arguments; the vehemence of her sorrow and the shame and horror at her condition so filled her mind that she could think of nothing but the danger of her state. And all this was effected by the light which God infused into her soul; it aroused in her great fear and a love so great that the Lord said to her: "Many sins are forgiven her because she has loved much." Not only did love work in her, but also sorrow, and such great sorrow that it caused her to shed an abundance of tears. And not only sorrow, but shame and confusion, and disdain of the world, for she took such little account of the remarks of the other guests and the judgement of the Pharisee that she was able to do that which effected her salvation.

Not only was she repentant and thereby saved, but she experienced a deep desire to make satisfaction to God for the offenses she had committed. Consequently, after the Lord had ascended into heaven, although she had already obtained from His lips a complete remission of her sins, she spent thirty years in a cave doing penance. Each day she was marvelously caught up in rapture amidst angelic choirs. God thereby manifested the power and efficacy of true repentance which makes the penitents equal to the angles.

As a greater confirmation of what we have said, we read in the Gospel that Magdalen stood at the side of the Blessed Mother at the foot of the cross. Mary the penitent stands with Mary the innocent. By this we are made to understand that sometimes the true penitents are made like the innocent and even surpass them, as it is said: "Sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall be made clean; wash me and I shall become whiter than snow." To say that one will be made whiter than snow is to say that the penitent sometimes becomes whiter than the innocent, and it is to be believed that Magdalen in heaven is much more glorious than many who never committed a mortal sin. Let us imitate her example of penance so that we may become sharers in her glory.


Ven Louis of Granada, Summa of the Christian Life, Volume 3, Chapter 19, Mary Magdalene