FEAST OF ST. MARY MAGDALENE DE PAZZI - CATHOLIC MENTAL PRAYER AND MEDITATION

 

Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

(1566-1607)

Feast Day May 26

Patroness against bodily ills, sexual

temptation, sickness

Patroness of sick people

Mary Magdalene de Pazzi is one of my favorite mystics. In addition to her love of mental prayer, she is the patroness of sick people (among other things) and she was a Carmelite nun.

From a very early age, she was attracted to contemplative prayer, and it was so obvious to everyone who knew her that her mother requested of The Church that she be taught mental prayer that involves lengthy sessions of meditation when she was about 9 years old.

I know what it feels like to be attracted to contemplative life at a young age.  When I was 11, I was living in Carmel Valley, very near the Carmel mission, and I used to cycle over there on my little Schwinn Bicycle and wander through the grounds, visiting the book store and talking to the nice man behind the counter. Occasionally, he would give me little medals and holy cards. I wish I could thank him today, but he has most probably gone to his reward already.

Unlike Mary Margaret's household, there was NO religion in my family. My mother hated religion and particularly hated Catholics. I had a short series of correspondence with the Catholic nuns in Carmel, but my mother put a stop to it when it became obvious that I was very attracted to the life of silence and contemplative prayer, and her hatred for the Catholic Church resulted in her refusal to allow me near it.

"Trials are nothing else but the forge

that purifies the soul of all its

imperfections."

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

To this day, I still have a strong feeling for the Carmelites and enjoy the Catholic mental prayer that is the bailiwick of the Carmelite mystics and saints!

We have some writings of this remarkable saint that have endured to this day. Most interesting are the 12 letters in which she continually confirms that the words are not hers, but given to her by God while in an ecstatic state of union with Him.

Franciscan Media defines "mystical ecstasy" as "the elevation of the spirit to God in such a way that the person is aware of this union with God while both internal and external senses are detached from the sensible world." (See their page on Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi at THIS LINK)

I have become inspired to learn more about this saint and will be including her in my private studies. If you are at all interested in the lives of the saints, and especially those who practiced mental prayer with some miraculous results, I recommend you do the same!

CATHOLIC MENTAL PRAYER

"There is no greater sign of being dear

to God than suffering joyfully for love

of him."

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

SAME GOAL, DIFFERENT METHOD

I have many years of experience with Buddhist and Hindu (Vedanta style) meditation and, while the goal is substantially the same as the Catholics, the methods differ. Eastern religious traditions generally attempt a type of unitive prayer that quiets the discursive mental processes, while Catholic mental prayer activates it and makes use of our intellect in a targeted fashion. 

We all want to be closer to God, spend time with Him, and be as like Him as is possible. The mystics among us long for the unitive state of oneness with The Lord, whether they are Hindu, Buddhist or Catholic.

THE PROCESS

First, a subject of meditation is decided upon, then we examine ourselves in relation to it, resolving to do better and explore how we may do that, opening ourselves to the action of the Divine within us.

MEDITATION TOPICS

You could meditate on the exquisite glory of Heaven, or a particular holy trait, such as love of neighbor. The "practice of the presence of God" is probably my favorite.

The affections of our spirit are drawn into this process, and the degree of our love for God is made obvious at this point because honest self-examination can be difficult to do without a great deal of love for the Lord. A mature intellect is also essential, which would be unusual for a young girl, but Mary Magdalene de Pazzi was unique in this regard.

PETITIONS

This process naturally leads to prayers of petition for the sake of the world and individuals in particular, depending upon the subject of meditation and any insights that may have been gained during that session of mental prayer.

This type of prayer is the precursor to the unitive prayer and advanced mystical states. It is part of the work that one does to clean oneself up, in a sense, and grow in holiness.

Everyone has their own temperament and abilities when it comes to sitting still and working with the mind. I have always enjoyed it. When I was in the Vedanta convent, my yearly "vacation" was taken at a retreat center where I meditated 6 to 8 hours a day. I found it wonderfully inspiring and healing. Others might go mad.

HUMILITY

We can't approach the throne of God in a dirty, fallen state, unrepentant and lacking in virtue. Mental strength and stamina are necessary to endure the stress of comparing oneself to the Divine attributes. The holy characteristic of humility is one of the blessings of the spiritual practice of mental prayer.

SPENDING TIME WITH GOD

This is how I look at this topic:

When we go to visit a king, we do not appear in rags, unwashed, with our hair tangled and stinking of the world. Right? We clean ourselves up! We take a shower, wash our hair, put on clean clothes and usually bring a little present of some sort - something that shows our regard for the ruler of the land. Mental prayer is the way the soul scrubs itself up.

We cannot be perfect, but we can open ourselves to perfection so that when faced with the All Perfect Being, we are equipped to tolerate that experience without suffering shame. We will ourselves shy away from Him if we have not made any effort to present ourselves in the proper condition.

DO WE WANT GOD?

It seems to me that we decide how close we will be to God.  

Jesus said that if we love Him we will follow his commandments. It follows then that the degree to which we try to do that is the degree to which we love Him. 

But it's not a business arrangement. His arms are open to us all the time He isn't forcing us to come to Him. He gave us free will and is just waiting for us to walk into His open arms. It is up to us if we do it or not.

God doesn't "send" us to Hell either. I am tired of people complaining about the "Christian" God that "sends" people to Hell. Do we gravitate toward Heaven or Hell? That's the key.

Just think about this: It is you who decides where you put your mind. If you incline your mind to God, you will be with Him or at least you will be immersed in thoughts of Him, at first. Eventually, the thoughts move away, like clouds move from in front of the sun.

I have heard many people exclaim that Jesus spent all his time with "sinners" and that they can therefor sin as much as they want, after which they will go to Heaven - easy peasy -  a terribly obvious misrepresentation of his message. The "sinners" that He spent time with were repentant people who regretted their former habits and had resolved to do better, under the sheltering umbrella of Jesus's remarkable forgiveness in a milieu that was rather unforgiving. "Once a sinner, always a sinner" was the prevailing attitude in the culture of the time and place. 

Jesus reversed that by forgiving repentant sinners. But He clearly told the Apostles that if anyone did not entertain His message, they were to kick the sand of that place from their shoes and move on.

Prayer and meditation are steps toward Him.

THE MYSTICAL STATE

The end result of mental prayer and meditation can be spiritual ecstasy. Saints such as Teresa of Avila have written many hundreds of pages on this type of spiritual experience and I don't pretend to replace or emulate it with this simplified version of it, but I DO hope that you are inspired to take it up on a regular basis.

Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi enjoyed a special personal relationship with Jesus, enjoying divine conversation with Him as a result of her spiritual disciplines, and she is a wonderful inspiration to anyone interested in contemplative life.

As I mentioned before, a portion of her writings have been preserved and I intend to buy them as soon as I am able. Bob and Penny Lord, well known Catholic film makers, have produced an episode about her, and this is available on Amazon and, I assume, elsewhere.

There is such a wealth of spiritual guides available to us, it is really remarkable that we are not all saints by now. But it will not just hit us, like a lightning bolt, because of some wishful thinking or presumption. It is up to us to prepare ourselves to receive God's grace, to be in a ready state, and glance in His direction.

I hope you take some time to get to know Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi and the mental prayers that she practiced. Let me know how it goes and if you need any help locating these resources.

In the meantime, God bless us all.

Silver "Rose"

SAINT ALBERT OF TRAPANI - CARMELITE PATRON

Saint Albert of Trapani

( Albert degli Abbati )

Feast Day - August 7

I was delighted to learn about today's saint, since my love of the Carmelite Order began as a young girl (long story) and I further took Teresa of Avila as my patron saint when I was baptized at age 38 by the Episcopalians (again, a long story.)  Saint Teresa, a doctor of the church and another Carmelite, was very devoted to Albert of Trapani, and I am surprised that I had not recalled learning anything of him before today.  He is one of those saints that had a profound effect on the Church as a whole, as well as the Carmelite Order of which he was a part, but whose public popularity is somewhat dimmed in this country.  I do not know why.

Albert degli Abbati was born in Trapani, Sicily in the 13th century.  More than one of my sources claims that his parents dedicated him to the Catholic Church prior to his birth.  It is also said that his parents were unable to have children for the first 26 years of their marriage, until he was born.  There is some evidence that this is a factual account.

A collection of legends that grew up around him appears on the St. Joseph's Carmelite Monastery of Kilmacud website (link at bottom of page.)  The oldest biography was written shortly after 1385, a copy of which is preserved in the Vatican, thus we are fairly sure of the basic facts of his life.

Albert was very young when he entered the Carmelite house in Trapani, which was only one of about fifteen friaries in Sicily at that time.  Later, he transferred to a house in Messina.  His mission was primarily that of preaching to the Sicilian people, and he is known both for his inspired oratory and many miracles and cures, both physical and spiritual, among them exorcisms.  He was known in his time as a "wonder worker," and the miraculous healings attributed to his intercession occurred even after his death.

It is said that Albert had many converts among the Jews that lived near Messina and that he also wrote books, but none are extant.  He spent some time as the provincial superior at the house in Messina, as late as 1297, but lived as a hermit for the last few years of his life, until his death in 1307. By about 1317, his relics were "translated" and there are pieces of that saint all over the place, mostly in Sicily. Trapani has his skull.  In Sicily there are many reminders of the Saint's life.  In Agrigento is a well, the waters of which were purified by the saint.

In the 16th Century, it was established that every Carmelite Church should have an altar dedicated to him.

Ancient Prayer for healing attributed to Saint Albert:

"O my God, you have created the human race by your wonderful power.  It is an act of your clemency that has called us to share your glory and eternal life.  When the first sin condemned us to suffer death, out of your goodness you wished to redeem us through the blood of your Son, to unite us to you through our faith and your great mercy.  You have brought us back from the shame of your sign; you have veiled our dishonour in the brightness of your glory.  Look now and see that what you have created, giving it subtle limbs and joints and made beautiful through its immortal soul, is now subject to the attack of Satan.  Be pleased Lord to reconstitute your work and heal it.  May your power be glorified and may the malice of the enemy be stunned."

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Carmelite Prayer:

"Lord God, you made Saint Albert of Trapani a

model of purity and prayer, and a devoted

servant of Our Lady. May we practice these

same virtues and so be worthy always to share

the banquet of your grace. Grant this through

our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives

and reigns with you and the Holly Spirit, one

God, forever and ever."

The propers for the Carmelite Office of Blesseds and Saints can be found HERE, if you would like to include those in today's prayers.

Having learned a bit about this saint, I plan to add him to my personal "committee" of intercessors I call upon for help.  Perhaps he can help you also.  This blog represents a slight sketch about Saint Albert.  If it has piqued your curiosity, please refer to the source links I have included below my by-line.

In the meantime, please pray for me as I pray for you.


Silver "Rose" Parnell
(c) 2015
All rights reserved

SOURCE LINKS:

ST. JOSEPH'S CARMELITE MONASTERY, KILMACUD

ALBERT OF TRAPANI: a saint of yesterday for today Giovanni Grosso, O.Carm. translated by Paul Chandler, O.Carm.

ORDER OF THE BROTHERS OF THE MOST VIRGIN MARY OF CARMEL

MEDITATIONS FROM CARMEL