Tradition has always identified Mary Magdalene as the penitent who came to Christ at the house of the Pharisee and insisted on washing His feet with her tears. She dried them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with oil from an alabaster jar. The Pharisee was appalled, but Christ said that she had shown the greater love and told her: “Your sins are forgiven, your faith has saved you, go in peace.” She is believed to be the same Mary of Magdala who was possessed by seven demons until Jesus freed her. There is no evidence in Scripture for Mary Magdalene’s reputation as a prostitute, but the myth endures.

Whatever the truth about her life before the Crucifixion, Mary Magdalene was among the mourners at Calvary, and she became the first witness to the Resurrection. She arrived at Christ’s tomb that morning shortly before dawn. Discovering that the stone had been moved, Mary Magdalene ran to the apostles Peter and John and brought them back to see. Mary remained there to weep. Two angels asked her why she was weeping. She answered: “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid Him.” She did not recognize Jesus standing there until He said, “Mary!” She answered, “Rabbouni.” Jesus told her to take a message to the disciples: “I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

May Magdalene was the first to announce Jesus’ Resurrection; Women have always been in the forefront for spreading the good news of Jesus. Philosophers from Thomas Aquinas to St. John Paul II, have saluted Mary Magdalene as the Apostle to the Apostles because she was the first to see the Resurrected Christ and was charged with bringing others the news.

The Saint of the Impossible was a miracle baby. Her mother was childless for 12 years, then an angel appeared to her and told her that she would have a daughter. She named her Margherita. All her life, she would be known as Rita.

At age 12, Rita wanted to enter the convent, but her elderly parents insisted she marry the wealthy Paolo Mancini. They were together for 18 years and had two sons, but Rita suffered from her husband’s violent temper. He often beat her. Her husband was murdered because he had many enemies. Her sons had their father’s temper and had a vendetta to avenge after their father’s death so Rita lived in fear that her sons would be killed. Instead, they died in an epidemic.

She next wanted to join the Augustinian Order of nuns which appealed to her because they helped the sick and afflicted. They did not admit widows. She was rejected twice by the prioress. When Rita appeared in the convent’s locked chapel one morning, they admitted her to the Order.

Rita was a nun for more than two decades when she was moved by a homily on The Passion of Christ. She stood before a crucifix and begged Christ to share in His pain. Suddenly a piece of thorn fell from the crucifix and embedded itself in Rita’s forehead. The wound brought her terrible suffering for 15 years. Rita is usually represented with a crown of thorns over her nun’s veil.

When Rita was bedridden near the end of her life, she asked to smell a rose from her parent’s garden. Her cousin told her it was impossible. She went and found a red rose exactly where Rita said it would be in the middle of January. Rita died a few months later on May 22, 1457.

Oration to the Saint of the Impossible
O excellent St. Rita, worker of miracles,
from thy sanctuary in Cascia,
where in all thy beauty thou sleeps in peace,
where thy relics exhale breaths of paradise,
turn thy merciful eyes on me who suffer and weep!
Thou sees my poor bleeding heart surrounded by thorns.
Thou sees, O dear Saint,
that my eyes have no more tears to shed, so much have I wept!
Weary and discouraged as I am,
I feel the very prayers dying on my lips.
Must I despair in this crisis of my life?
O come, St. Rita, come to my aid and help me.
Are you not called the Saint of the Impossible,
Advocate to those in despair?
Then honor thy name, procuring for me from God the favor that I ask.
[Here ask the favor you wish to obtain.]
Pray, then, pray for me to thy sweet Lord Jesus
that He be moved to pity by my troubles and
that, through thee, O good St. Rita,
I may obtain what my heart so fervently desires.
(Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, three times.)

The “Saintly Teacher” was blessed with two remarkable mentors: Cardinal Barbarigo and Rosa Venerini. The Cardinal met Lucy when she was 16 years old, and recognizing her talent, he invited Venerini to train her in teaching.

At 20, St. Lucy opened her first school and discovered that she hated teaching! Often, it was said that, after a day of teaching, she would go back to her room and cry. Tormented by doubts, she became physically ill and was confined to bed for more than a year, until her illness suddenly subsided.

St. Lucy returned to health confident that God had called her to teaching because He had given her the talent to do it well. In years following, whenever things got difficult, Lucy would repeat: “When a work is from God, God Himself feels obliged to protect it.”

St. Lucy formed the Institute of the Maestre Pie, now known as the Religious Teachers Filippini. Her sisters traveled in groups of two or three and established free schools for girls in remote small towns or villages.

After St. Lucy had trained her teachers, she continued to meet with them regularly to strengthen their faith, encourage them, and pray with them. She also led retreats for women all over Italy. During the 8–10-day retreats, St. Lucy spoke with such fervor that the women were reduced to tears. She always closed by urging them to practice certain virtues. Until the end of her life, St. Lucy continued traveling and holding these retreats, declaring: “I long to be present in every corner of the earth, to be present everywhere, and plead with all peoples: ‘Love God, Love God!’” She died on March 25, 1732, in Italy.

These sisters opened and staffed Assumption School in Tuckahoe until it closed. One of our own, Sr. Joan DiRienzo, daughter of Lucretia DiRienzo, is a member of her order and is presently a principal in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Let Us Pray
O glorious St. Lucy,
who from your heavenly home continue to recognize our needs,
bestow your love and mercy upon us
who ask your powerful intercession.
During your lifetime, you did not hesitate
to help the poor, heal the sick, and open your most sensitive heart
to alleviate their miseries.
Do not let us leave you without having obtained
the graces for which we asked.
Continue to show us that you are a most loving mother
to all who come to you and confide in your holy protection.
Amen.

Our Blessed Mother has appeared in many places around the world. One of the most famous of them is Lourdes, France.

In a series of 18 apparitions during the year 1858, the Blessed Mother appeared to fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous near Lourdes, a French village at the base of the Pyrenees. In her message, Our Lady asked for prayer, penance, and reparation for sinners. Our Lady also provided special waters – a spring— for which Lourdes is famous. Many who have bathed in it have been miraculously healed. Thousands who have visited this shrine have found their faith renewed.

A major part of Our Lady’s message to St. Bernadette has special significance for us here in our Parish: it is in Lourdes where Mary revealed herself saying, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

The title brings us back to the Book of Genesis when God spoke to the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman.” It was Mary’s Immaculate Conception that made her the bitter enemy of Satan. Because she was kept free of original sin, Mary possessed a fullness of grace that even Satan could not overcome. Once again, Mary was recognized as being our powerful intercessor before God.

The Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated each year on February 11. Pope John Paul II also designated this day as World Day of the Sick as “a special time of prayers and sharing, of offering one’s suffering for the good of the church and reminding us to see in our sick brothers and sisters the face of Christ who, by suffering, dying and rising, achieved the salvation of humankind.”

(Letter Instituting the World Day of the Sick on May 13, 1992)

A Prayer to Our Lady

O Most Holy Virgin,
immaculate in body and spirit,
look kindly on me
as I implore your powerful intercession.

O Most Holy Mother,
receive my prayers
as I present them to God.

O Mary,
Mother of Jesus and our Mother,
you intercede for us with your Son.

O Mary conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, pray for us.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
Our Lady Queen of Christendom, pray for us.
Amen.

Many images of Mary make her appear European, because the artists were European. Many make her look Middle Eastern or Jewish, which she was. One, in Mexico City, stands alone. It appears on a man’s poncho, or Tilma, made of two pieces of cactus cloth. Although this kind of material rarely lasts longer than 20 years, this Tilma has survived intact for centuries. In 1531, it belonged to Juan Diego, an Aztec.

One December morning, Juan walked by the ruins of the shrine of the Aztec Corn-Harvest goddess, a place destroyed by the Spanish and renamed Guadalupe. There, Juan saw a vision of Mary, revealing herself as “the Mother of the true God.” She appeared with olive skin, black hair and colored clothing of an Aztec Princess. Around her waist was the sash worn by a woman during pregnancy. She spoke with affection to Juan, bringing a message of hope and compassion.

Part of Mary’s message required Juan to go to the Bishop, but the Bishop did not believe him and wanted a sign that Juan’s story was true. Mary reappeared and provided Juan with a sign: she told him to bring the Bishop some roses growing from Tepeyac, near Mexico City. Although it was winter, Juan found the roses growing among the rocks. He gathered them in his poncho and went to the Bishop.

When he unfolded his garment, to share the sign, there was a greater one: a beautiful image of Mary imprinted on his poncho — an image like the one of Mary he saw at Tepeyac. Mary’s image was given to an Aztec Christian peasant – not to the church or the rich or powerful. Mary brought new dignity to the Aztecs. In the 7 years of her appearances, 8 million Aztecs were baptized. Her Feast (Our Lady of Guadalupe) was December 12.

If you are ever at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the 12th, the side altar is filled with roses, and a long procession and Mass takes place in Mary’s honor. I had the honor to organize this Feast when I was stationed at the Cathedral. I will always remember the honor they gave to our Blessed Mother as the “Aztec Princess.”

On October 16, we celebrated the Feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. She left her mark on the church by introducing one of our most familiar devotions: The Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Sr. Margaret Mary was born in 1647, and at age 23, she entered a Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial, France, near Lyon. She soon had visions in which Christ showed her His heart in flames – a sign of His burning love for the souls that He had ransomed with His sacrifice on the cross. Christ informed her that He had chosen her to begin a devotion to His Sacred Heart. When she spoke of these visions to her prioress, she was dismissed. She was sent to a Jesuit priest who concluded that her visions were divinely inspired.

According to St. Margaret Mary, Jesus made 12 specific promises to those who honor His Sacred Heart with acts of reparation and frequent Communion. Christ said that those who receive Communion on the First Friday for nine months will find that “My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.” St. Margaret Mary wrote: “All, all for God and nothing for myself.”

This devotion was officially recognized by Pope Clement XIII in 1765, about 75 years after St. Margaret Mary’s death.

The 12 Promises of Jesus to Those Devoted to His Sacred Heart

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will establish peace in their families.

3. I will console them in all their troubles.

4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.

5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.

9. I will bless the home where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.

10. I will give priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.

12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

I would like to share with you two experiences I had at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome one November. The days were All Saints and All Souls – two of the most celebrated days in the Church calendar.

In the early morning of November 1, All Saints' Day, the church was semi-dark, and the main altar was covered with relics of the saints. I found out that they were brought up from the treasury. Here was the Communion of Saints on Earth. It was truly breathtaking, and I felt humbled to be in their presence. I also began to think not only of the canonized saints but saints I have known: the holy and devout people I have met in my lifetime. The Company of Saints came alive for me as I stood in front of the altar at St. Peter’s.

The next day was All Souls' Day. The Basilica was almost in darkness, and the mood very somber. The reality of death was truly felt, but always with the hope of Resurrection.

In one of my parishes, I asked people to bring in a picture of a loved one who died. They placed it on a side altar, and we prayed for them in the month of November. The altar was full and very impressive. The people who brought the photos said they felt their loved ones were close to God. We kept a list of the names and had a Mass to recall each of them. The people were very grateful for the experience.

Please remember to always pray to your special saint and to never forget your deceased loved ones in prayer.