St Mary Magdalen de Pazzi – May 25 – Carmelite Saints

Summary:

Born in Florence in 1566, St. Mary Magdalen of the Incarnate Word de’ Pazzi had a religious upbringing and entered the monastery of the Carmelite nuns there. She led a hidden life of prayer and self-denial, praying particularly for the renewal of the Church and encouraging the sisters in holiness. Her life was marked by many extraordinary graces. She died in 1607.

History:

Caterina Lucrezia de' Pazzi was born on April 2, 1566. She was the second of four children in one of Florence's most influential families. Her parents were Camilo de’ Pazzi and Maria Buondelmonti. Caterina was named after St. Catherine of Siena. By the 15th century, the Pazzi family held significant political power. As such, Caterina was a childhood friend of Maria de’ Medici, who later became queen of France. As a child, Caterina shunned vanity. She learned to pray before she learned to speak. Raised as a Christian, she showed early spiritual maturity, devotion, and sensitivity. So much so that when her mother returned from Mass, Caterina would stay close to her, saying she “felt the taste of Jesus in her.”

Mercy grew with her from birth. As a little girl, she fed the poor by giving away her own food. Later, while living in the country, she taught the basics of the faith to humble maidens. Her mother’s deep piety shaped her soul. Jesuit Fathers, invited by her parents, visited often and deeply influenced Caterina, giving her a lasting sense of the Church. As a youth, Caterina showed kindness, charity, and a strong love for prayer, penance, and the Blessed Sacrament.

At eight, she was sent to study with the nuns at San Giovannini. At nine, her mother taught her mental prayer and meditation. The nuns saw her contemplative nature and prepared her for First Holy Communion. She received it at age 10, with her confessor’s consent, on March 25, 1576. On Holy Thursday that year, she dedicated herself to God with a vow of virginity. Her parents planned for her to get married, but she refused. She said she would rather die than change her vow. She learned to read and came across the Athanasian Creed, which inspired her. She also loved St. Augustine’s meditations and Loarte’s works on the Lord’s Passion, suggested by her Spiritual Director, Fr. Andrea Rossi.

After returning home, Caterina deepened her prayer life with the Jesuit Fathers. Despite worldly demands around her, she was determined to become more like her crucified Spouse. At twelve, she experienced her first ecstasy while watching the sunset, which left her trembling and speechless. Two years later, she attended school at the convent of Cavalaresse, where the nuns admired her devotion and forbearance, predicting she might become a saint. While studying at Cavalaresse, she decided to serve the Lord for the rest of her life.

At 17, after gaining her parents’ consent, she joined the Carmel of St. Mary of the Angels at Borgo San Frediano. On January 30, 1583, she received the Carmelite habit and took the name Sr. Mary Magdalen of the Incarnate Word. She chose this convent because it allowed for the reception of daily Communion, which was rare at the time.

In 1583, she had her second mystical experience. The nuns saw her weeping before the crucifix. She cried, "O Love, you are neither known nor loved." At the end of the novitiate year, her profession was delayed so that others could make theirs at the same time. In early March 1584, she fell seriously ill. Doctors feared the worst. Although the illness was painful, Mary bore it with peace. During her suffering, she pointed to the crucifix and said, "See what the infinite love of God has suffered for my salvation—that same love sees my weakness and gives me courage. Those who call to mind the sufferings of Christ and who offer up their own to God through his passion find their pains sweet and pleasant." Because of her precarious health, the Prioress allowed her to make her profession in danger of death after one year. On May 27, the Feast of the Trinity, she was carried on her pallet into the choir to make her vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience forever.

On her profession day, Mary entered ecstasy for forty days, ending on August 15, 1584. These ecstasies were recorded in the “Forty Days.” Each morning, the Lord visited her and revealed his love. The joy from God’s grace mixed with her worsening illness. In one vision, Jesus took her heart and hid it in his own, saying He "would not return it until it is wholly pure and filled with pure love." During this period, the sisters took notes on what Mary said in ecstasy and to the Prioress and Mistress. Then, on July 16, 1584, she was healed through Bl. Maria Bagnesi’s intercession. Maria, a Dominican Tertiary, had been buried at St. Mary of the Angels in 1577. After her recovery, Mary served three years as assistant mistress of novices. She later served as sacristan.

The Carmelites of St. Mary of the Angels wrote five manuscripts about their young sisters’ experiences. The saint herself later revised these records. They titled them: “Forty Days,” “Colloquies,” “Revelations and Intelligences,” “Trials and Renewal of the Church,” as well as her “Sayings and Letters.”

The “Forty Days” of ecstasy in 1584 were followed by “The Colloquies” in early 1585. On March 24, 1585, the eve of the Annunciation, Saint Augustine wrote in her heart: Verbum caro factum est, "The Word was made flesh." Shortly after, on April 15, she received the invisible stigmata. On April 28, the Lord gave her a wedding ring.

Sr. Mary Magdalen received the highest mystical knowledge from God during "Revelations and Intelligences"—eight days of ecstasies from June 8 to 15, 1585. These spanned from the vigil of Pentecost to the Feast of the Trinity. At 19, this experience enabled her to embrace the whole mystery of salvation, from the Incarnation in Mary’s womb to the Holy Spirit’s descent at Pentecost.

From July 20, 1586, to late September, she had more ecstasies focusing on the Renovation of the Church. Like St. Catherine of Siena, she felt driven to write letters of appeal to the Pope, Cardinals, her Archbishop, and others in the Church. She urged commitment to "The Renovation of the Church," as promoted by the Council of Trent. Furthermore, she insisted on the need for the Church’s renewal and to combat the “lukewarmness” of the baptized. These 12 letters were dictated in ecstasy. She emphasized she wrote "to be a bride and not a servant" of God.

During these ecstasies, she sometimes spoke of mysteries of the Most Holy Trinity beyond human understanding. She endured the cruel pains of Christ’s Passion. Christ espoused her with a ring and crowned her with thorns. The Blessed Virgin covered her with a snow-white veil.

These consolations prepared her for a long desolation. For five years, God seemed distant; though she saw He was not removing grace, only the sense of it. Amid dryness and abandonment, she was tormented by demons and temptations. Though she was almost without reason, she prevailed, and her victories made her stronger. As a result, she gained extraordinary command over demons, knowledge of heavenly secrets and souls in the next life, and the spirit of prophecy. For example, she foresaw Cardinal Alessandro de’ Medici becoming Pope Leo XI. She appeared to people far away and healed some who were sick. Yet, these favors never lessened her humility; she considered herself the most imperfect of all.

She faced temptations to gluttony and impure thoughts. She asked heaven for help and disciplined her body and will by fasting. These struggles deepened her faith and selflessness. Despite her trials, she fulfilled all her convent duties and inspired her sisters through her resilience. At Pentecost in 1590, this difficult trial ended, and she felt God’s consolations again.

Except for a few ecstasies, her later days were quiet. She focused on her duties. Because of her spiritual maturity, she was put in charge of the young sisters’ formation for six years as mistress of novices. She also guided the junior professed for a time.

On March 7, 1594, she experienced spiritual matrimony. On May 1, 1595, she shared in Christ’s "naked suffering" of the Cross, uniting her completely to her Bridegroom. Her union with God was marked by love: “If it proceeds from the Father: love; if it proceeds from the Son: love; if it proceeds from the Holy Spirit: love. Your power: love; your wisdom: love; your goodness: love; your eternity: love; I will dare to say that your justice is also love.”

Mary never fully recovered her physical health from her illness as a novice. Despite ongoing challenges, she continued to teach and serve as mistress to incoming and junior nuns. In 1604, she became superior. As mistress and superior, she was known for her wisdom, discipline, and generosity. She was loved by everyone who knew her.

She observed her religious vows conscientiously and led a hidden life of prayer and self-denial. During her time in Carmel, she showed herself to be a model of every virtue. She was so obedient that she would not act on what God commanded her in ecstasies unless her superiors consented. She was so chaste that she not only overcame temptation to impurity, but remained unaware of it. For five years, she lived on bread and water alone, except on Sundays when she ate Lenten food. She constantly mortified her weak body with fasting, scourging, an iron belt, a crown of thorns, watches, walking barefoot in the snow, and scalding drops from a burning candle. Divine love burned so strongly within her that she would sometimes cry out, " O love! I can bear thee no longer"; and she was forced to cool her bosom with an abundance of water.

She was also known for her extraordinary devotion to the Eucharist, earning her the affectionate title "The Passion Flower of the Eucharist." Mary Magdalen embraced radical self-denial, wearing a crown of thorns and a hair shirt to unite herself more closely with Christ's suffering. She endured violent temptations and great physical suffering throughout her religious life, viewing these trials as opportunities to share in Christ's redemptive work. St. Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi also had a great devotion to Our Lady, and she was a significant inspiration in the development of Carmelite Marian devotion to the "Most Pure Virgin", claiming that the beauty of Mary lay in her purity, which was what had made her one with the Word in her divine maternity.

In the autumn of 1602, she became seriously ill with pulmonary tuberculosis. Her last three years of life were a true Calvary of suffering for her. Consumption began to manifest itself clearly: Sr. Mary Magdalen was obliged to withdraw little by little from community life to immerse herself ever more in "naked suffering for love of God".

As her strength declined, she suffered the added pain of not being able to feel the Lord’s presence. After a long illness, throughout which she practiced the austerities which she had formerly undertaken, she fell into her agony. She passed away on May 25, 1607, at 3 p.m. An unusual joy pervaded the entire monastery, as while the convent mourned her loss, they were also filled with an indescribable joy upon her entrance into heaven. She was buried in the choir of the Monastery chapel.

Her fame of sanctity, which already surrounded her in life, increased even more after her death. She was glorified by miracles before and after her death; her body, which was buried in a very damp spot, was found incorrupt after a year and remains in the same state to this day. The cell where she died has become a chapel in whose silence one can still feel her presence.

In 1626, around 19 years after her death, the Florentine Pontiff, Pope Urban VIII, beatified her. Pope Clement IX canonized her on April 28, 1669, in recognition of her exemplary endurance. St. Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi remains an inspiration for contemplatives and all those seeking deeper intimacy with Christ through prayer and sacrifice. She has the gift of being a spiritual teacher, particularly for priests, to whom she always nourished a true passion.

Prayer:

Father,
you love those who give themselves completely to your service,
and you filled Saint Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi
with heavenly gifts and the fire of your love.
As we honor her today,
may we follow her example of purity and charity.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.