For the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

Holy Mother Church honors St. Mary Magdalene on July 22.  Pope St. Gregory the Great spoke of St. Mary Magdalene, saying,
“Thinking upon the repentance of Mary Magdalene, I am more ready to weep than to say anything. For what heart of stone would not be softened to a like repentance by the tears of this sinner? She considered what she had done, and would not be mod­erate in what she was then doing. She broke in upon the guests, she came uninvited, she brought her tears to the banquet. You may un­derstand with what sorrow she burns, in that she is not ashamed to weep even at a feast.
But this woman, whom Luke calls a woman who was a sinner, is named by John—it is Mary; and we believe she was that Mary from whom, as Mark bears witness, seven devils were cast forth. And what is typified by seven devils, if not all the vices? For since all time is counted by periods of seven days, by the number seven, completeness is rightly represented. Mary then had seven devils, be­cause she was full of all the vices.
But, behold, when she saw the stains of her foulness, she ran to wash herself at the fountain of mercy, and had no shame before the guests. Indeed, since she felt so much shame in herself, she counted it as nothing to be out­wardly disgraced...” (Pope St. Gregory the Great, Homily 33 on the Gospels).

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Known as the Penitent, St. Mary Magdalene was also present at Our Lord's Crucifixion and one of the first at the empty tomb.  Fourteen years after Jesus' death, St. Mary Magdalene, with Sts. Martha and Lazarus, Maximin, who baptized her, Sara, her maid, Sidonius, who was the man born blind, and the body of St. Anne, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, were set adrift, eventually landing on the shores of southern France.  From that time, St. Mary Magdalene continued her life of penance, living in a cave as a contemplative and mystic.  Her only food was the Blessed Sacrament that she received daily from her angel.  After being transported miraculously to the chapel of St. Maximin, she received the last sacraments and died at the age of 72.  Like St. Mary Magdalene, we, too, should strive daily to do penance for our sins and grow in love of Our Lord, leaving no excuses for lives of mediocrity.

You can listen to they hymn at his link:

Maria Magdalene

(Music by Andrea Gabrieli)

Maria Magdalena et altera Maria Ibant diluculo ad monumentum Jesum, Jesum, quem quaeritis, non est hic, Surrexit, praecedet vos in Galilaeam, Ibi eum videbitis. Alleluia.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary Went forth at dawn to the tomb of Jesus; Jesus whom you seek, is not here; He has risen, and has gone before you into Galilee; There you will see Him. Alleluia.

Prayer of Thanksgiving for the Tears of St. Mary Magdalene with Promise

St. Mary Magdalene said to St. Mechtilde: "Whoever shall give God thanks for all the tears I shed upon the feet of Jesus, our most merciful God will grant him, through my intercession, remission of all his sins before his death, and a great increase of love of God."
O most merciful Jesus, I give Thee thanks for that work of piety which the blessed Mary Magdalene wrought on Thee, when she washed Thy feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed them and anointed them with fragrant ointment; whereby she obtained from Thee such signal grace that Thou didst pour into her heart and soul so great a love of Thee, that she could love nothing apart from Thee; beseeching Thee, that by her merits and intercessions Thou wouldst vouchsafe to give me tears of true repentance and pour into my heart Thy Divine love. Amen.