We all know St. Mary Magdalene – this saint of the Resurrection, the first person Christ appeared to at His tomb, and the woman who challenged an emperor with an egg that turned red.
The life of St. Mary Magdalene is astonishing, debated, and revered. There’s also an amazing place in the hills of France where she was buried and lived out her days called Sainte-Baume, the Rock of Mercy. It’s in Provence, France that place of beauty with fields of yellow irises, poppies, and wild thyme.
It’s in this area that St. Mary Magdalene landed after being driven into the sea on a boat without a sail or rudder. She landed in a place called Les Saintes Maries De La Mer and became the first preacher of the Gospel in Provence. Her brother, Lazarus, raised from the dead by Christ in one of the most famous accounts of the Gospel, also survived the journey. He went on to preach in Marseilles.
The tradition of St. Mary Magdalene is strong in France. There’s a basilica named after her and yearly processions in her honor. The region became a strong pilgrimage site when in 1925 excavations by Charles II of Anjou in Saint-Maximin revealed her tomb. The Dominicans have kept the tomb ever since.
This Week is Full of Great Saints
This week is a powerhouse of saints in the Catholic Church’s Liturgical Calendar. We’ve got St. Bridget of Sweden on July 23, St. Sharbel on July 24, and the Virgin Mary’s grandparents, St. Ann, and St. Joachim on July 26!
Here’s a quick run-down of each saint
St. Bridget (1302-1373) on July 23
She is the patron saint of Sweden. She has a daughter who is also a saint: St. Catherine of Sweden. A mother of eight children, St. Bridget is known for her revelations about the sufferings of Christ. She also worked for the return of the Popes from Avignon and founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior (The Brigittines.)
When she was only ten, she had a vision of Jesus on the cross and heard him say, “Look at me, my daughter.”
“Who has treated you like this?” cried little Bridget.
Jesus answered, “Those who despise me and refuse my love for them.” From that moment on, Bridget tried to stop people from offending Jesus. Her feast day is July 23.
St. Sharbel Makhlūf (1828-1868)
We celebrate St. Sharbel on July 24. He was a Lebanese monk born in a small mountain village and ordained in 1858. Devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he spent the last twenty-three years of his life as a hermit. His devotion to the Eucharist is inspirational. He is known for The Father of Truth Prayer:
Father of Truth, behold Your Son, a sacrifice pleasing to You. Accept this offering of Him who died for me; behold His blood shed on Golgotha for my salvation. It pleads for me. For His sake, accept my offering. Many are my sins, but greater is Your mercy. When placed on a scale, Your mercy prevails over the weight of the mountains known only to You. Consider the sin and consider the atonement; the atonement is greater and exceeds the sin. Your beloved Son sustained the nails and the lance because of my sins so in His sufferings You are satisfied and I live.”
St. James, the Apostle
One of the twelve apostles he is celebrated on July 25. His designation as “the Greater” distinguishes him from the other Apostle St. James. James the Greater was our Lord’s cousin and was St. John’s brother. He was one of the witnesses of the Transfiguration, and was with Christ the agony in the garden. He was beheaded in Jerusalem in the year 42 or 43 A.D. on the orders of Herod Agrippa. Since the ninth century, Spain claims his relics. The pilgrimage to St. James of Compostella, Spain (known as Camino de Santiago, “the Way of St. James”) is one of the most popular pilgrimages in the world.
Saints Joachim and Anne
These two saints were childless unti the Blessed Mother was conceived by them later in life.
Their feast is celebrated on July 26. It was in the home of Saints Joachim and Anne where the Virgin Mary received her training to be the Mother of God. There is a great shine to St. Anne in Canada known for its many miracles.
Image Credit: Do Not Touch me by Paulo Veronese, wikiart, public domain
