Friday, July 8, 2011

Saint Mary Magdalene






















(Magdalene by Antonio Veneziano from Magnifacat Magazine)

Her feast day rapidly approaches; my favorite saint, Mary Magdalene, with her jar of alabaster whom we honor on July 22nd, and I have found the most lovely poem written in her honor. Today I snuck away to one of my favorite places, the Salzmann Library at St. Francis de Sales Seminary where three treasures were waiting for me to indulge my spiritual avarice-three books written by or about Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, the holy founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, a cloistered order who devote themselves to praying for priests. Fr. Fitzgerald wrote poetry and had it published under the pseudonym of A. Page, CSC, and it was in his book titled Paths from Bethlehem where I found this delicious poem:

To Saint Mary Magdalene

You claimed
the false
until you found
the True;
your beauty
wounded
until Beauty
wounded you,
and plunged your soul
into a spring so sweet
your tears
fell as chaste pearls
at Mercy's
feet.


St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us!

3 comments:

  1. Oh! This poem is a beauty, Anne! I loved it! Are there more like it in Father's book?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mary and Colleen-so glad you ladies enjoyed the poem, I knew it was too good to keep to myself! Yes, Mary, the book is wonderful, full of gems! He's got a great one in there to St. Margaret Mary as well, I'll have to post it soon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks, Anne! I think I'll look for this book too. I appreciate the thumbs up on it :)

    ReplyDelete