vaughan - sinless mary and sinful mary

7/31/2019 Vaughan - Sinless Mary and sinful Mary

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C )LL CHRISTI REGIS SJ.016. MAJOR

TORONTO


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SINLESS MARYAND SINFUL MARY

I. Mary s Social Mission as the

Second Eve

II. The Woman that was a Sinner

BY

BERNARD VAUGHAN, S.J.

C3LL CHRIST! REGIS S.J.616. MAJOR

TORONTO

^077BURNS & GATES LIMITEjD

28 ORCHARD STREET, LONDON, W.

1905


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Sinless Mary and sinful Mary

The Mary called the Magdalen"FRANCIS THOMPSON.


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THESE WORDS ABOUT

MARY, CALLED THE MADONNAAND

MARY, NAMED THE MAGDALENARE DEDICATED WITH

REVERENCE, LOVE, AND GRATITUDE

TO

Our Holy Father

POPE PIUS XBY

His DEVOTED SON

BERNARDS.J.

CIVILTA CATTOLICAROME

December 17 th, 1904


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I/

MARY S SOCIAL MISSION ASTHE SECOND EVE


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Correggio\

VIRGIN AND CHILD


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Mary s Social Mission asthe Second Eve. Wordsspoken in the Basilica

of the Apostles, Rome.December 3rd, 1904.

" All generations shall call me blessed."LUKE i. 48.

MY LORDS CARDINALS, RIGHTREV. FATHERS, AND DEAR BRETHREN, We are met together, here,in

the Eternal City,to celebrate a

year that will be for ever memorable in the history of the Church,a year of double jubilee. Fromevery nation have come delegatesand representatives to keep highand solemn festival here, in the

centre of Christendom, where fiftyyears ago was first proclaimed to a


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Mary s Social Mission

similar gathering, and to all theworld, the dogma of Mary s Immaculate Conception ; and where, inthe past year, God has set uponthe Throne of Peter a Successorwhose career and whose Pontificate

alreadybid fair to attain a dis

tinction and a fame unique in theannals of the world.

The Faithful from every Christianland are gathered here, and we ofEngland, as I trust, in no unworthynumber, seeing that our dear native

land has had this quite special gloryand twofold honour ; the one, thatof celebrating the Feast of OurLady s Conception from as far backas the eleventh century that is, atleast one hundred years earlier than

anyother

people ;and the

other,that

of giving, in the sixteenth century,the lives of her highest and noblestin the defence of the prerogativesof the Holy See.

The occasion and the time requirethat we should pass over this secondmotive for the jubilee to give ourthoughts to that which is first and


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The Second Eve 9

most dominant in the minds andhearts of all the glorious privilegebestowed upon her whom we callthe Immaculate.

And here again there is much wemust set aside : many facets of that

most brilliant Jewel, which our dearLady is, we may not even glance at.Other preachers will declare andextol the intrinsic beauty, the transcendent brightness, the supernaturalgrace of Mary s immaculate soul ;a soul, which is, as a fact, after theSacred Humanity, the extreme ofGod s creative energy, the goal ofHis ambition, the pure, shining peakof human personality, the witnessof His might, the mirror of His

beauty, the monument of His skill,the

trophyof His

passion,the

verytriumph of His love ; while I, for

my task, will endeavour to set forthbut one aspect of Mary s matchlessmission : the manner in which shehas repaired the sin of Eve, andrestored fallen woman to her rightful throne. That this was in parther mission, she herself bore witness


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io Mary s Social Mission

when in that hymn of praise, heronly song more wonderful in its

far-reaching significance than anyother that ever poured from humanlips she prophesied before earthand heaven: "Henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."

We call Mary the Second Eve,and well is she entitled to this name.For, in the great drama effectingman s redemption, did not Maryplay the part which answered bycontrast to that taken by Eve inthe tragedy that brought about thefall of man ?

Yes ; if it was Eve who, by listening to the insinuations of the evil

spirit promising that she should beas God, brought perdition into the

world,it was

Mary, by consentingto the message of the good spiritassuring her she was to becomethe Mother of God, who broughtsalvation to mankind. Mary s cooperation, then, in the work ofreparation is analogous to Eve spart in man s prevarication : hencewe call her the Second Eve.


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The Second Eve n"

By one woman," writes StAugustine,

"

death came to us, and,by another, life ": perdition by Eve,salvation by Mary. And StEpiphanius, treating of the samesubject, reminds us that: "Eve

was the cause of death to men,because death entered into thisworld through her ; while Mary,"he continues,

"

is the cause of lifeto them, because life and all that life

implies came into the world throughher." Hence the Church in her

liturgical office says of Mary :

"

Quod Heva tristis abstulitTu reddis almo genuine."

Presently we shall see howsplendidly Mary has fulfilled hermission to us as the Second Eve ;meanwhile let us for a momentpause to consider and examine thewiles and snares employed by theserpent, "more subtle than all thebeasts of the earth," to compasshis diabolical end : the ruin of mankind by original sin.


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12 Mary s Social Mission

Abiding his time, the evil onewaited till God had drawn forthfrom the region of man s heart apartner and helpmate in woman.Then when Eve came forth, freshfrom the creative hand of God

"

brighterthan eastern skies at

daybreak strewn with fragrantroses," Satan (seeing her sweetnessand loveliness, her weakness andgentleness, her fine sympathies,together with that infinite charmand grace and tact with which God,

had dowered her exquisite soul),realised at once what seemedto him to be his opportunity of

robbing man of his wealth of graceand of dragging him into the

slough of sin. He would attackAdam

throughEve ; he would

playupon her finer feelings and sensibilities, awakening both her curio

sity and her vanity, till at length,being borne away by ambition, shewould, so he felt, o erleap herself, andthus bring about not only her ownruin but, what most of all the enemywas scheming and plotting for, the


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The Second Eve 13

fall and ruin of her partner and lord,Adam.

Alas, my brethren, there is noneed for me to put before you thedetails of that terribly graphicstory, beginning with the word :

"

Why hath God commanded you ?"

and ending with the fatal climax :" You shall be as gods." So definitely, and yet so simply, is the

story told in Genesis that, whetherwe accept its literal interpretationor not, we cannot

help recognisingthat we have in it an account of thefall ; while between the lines is revealed to us the character of himwho " once was beautiful as he ishideous now."

Observe well, my brethren, that

man and woman, husband and wife,are meant in the designs of God tobe helpful and not hurtful to eachother.

"

Each has what the otherhas not, each completes the other,and is completed by the other ;they are in nothing alike." Andfurthermore, notice that, as thehappinesss and perfection of both


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depend on each sacrificing self andstudying the good of the other,so too the misery and perdition ofboth in no small measure dependon the selfishness of each to the

neglect of the interests of the other.That this is so I

need but remindyou of the scene enacted beside thetree of knowledge in the Gardenof Eden, where Eve

"

took of thefruit thereof, and did eat ; and gaveto her husband, and he did eat :and the eyes of both were opened."

And now to proceed to the nextchapter in the history dealing withthe downfall of woman and of manthrough woman. Fully satisfiedwith the success of his plan for theruin of our first parents, Satan,

whose one ambitionis the ruin of

their children also, has changedhis tactics in little or nothing sincehe first set them in action. In thatfirst attempt, having brought womanfrom her exalted position to the

depths of degradation, it has been

Satan s endeavour ever since to holdher down, to keep her from ever


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The Second Eve 15

rising again in the social scale, so

that she should ever be in his handsan apt instrument for the ruin of herhusband and of her offspring, andso in time of the human race. Andthe arch-enemy of mankind, in act

ing as he has done, has proved himself to be as malignant as he isastute.

Indeed, constituted and circumstanced as woman is, a cleverer planthan that employed by Satan tomar and spoil God s great creative

work cannot be conceived. For,putting aside her matchless giftsand charms to fascinate the eye ofman, woman in her unspoilt perfection, whether as wife or motheror daughter or friend, is knit toman s very soul by ties so fine andstrong, she is woven into the veryfibre of his being by relations sotender, so affectionate, and so intimate that she seems to hold inher hand the key itself of man sheart, and, therefore, the very springs

themselves of hislife

may be saidto be under her control.


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1 6 Mary s Social Mission

The history of woman from herfirst fall in Eve till her rise againin Mary is a painful proof that, ifwoman in her innocence may havesuch a powerful influence on the

destiny of man, woman in her fallmay deserve and incur man sbitterest contempt and scorn. Withrare exceptions, now in a chapterdealing with the Jewish people, nowin that of the Greeks, or again inthat of the Romans, and lastly ofthe German races, woman stands

out before us as moving, ever surelyif sometimes slowly, lower andlower down the incline, till at lastshe is seen in the time of the Empireon a social plane so base and degradedthat a French writer speaks of heras "la divinite de la corruption,trouvant son supreme honneur danssa supreme haute." Whatever influence at an earlier date she wasable to exercise for good, later,alas ! we are forced to admit whatlittle power was left to her she was

permitted to put forth for evilonly.


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The Second Eve 17

Time does not permit us to establish this statement by a series of

quotations from historians, philosophers, satirists, and poets, wholived in what was called the Golden

Age, but what in reality was an

ageof mud and blood and shame.

But one author I will cite, Seneca,whose noble pagan wife was Paulina.

"

Woman," he writes, is but ashameless animal, in whom men cansee nothing but a savage creature

incapable of restraining its passions."

Alas!

be this as it may, anyhow itis true to say that, in the last daysof the Empire, the unfortunatesisters of fallen Eve were treated asthough they were little better thannon-human beings w

7 ith no humanrights.

And what other fate was womanto expect in an Empire where it was

openly proclaimed that woman wasnot man s soda but serva, not thepartner of his life and helpmate,but the toy of his fancy and theinstrument of his pleasure ? True,at one time Greek andfRoman life


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1 8 Mary s Social Mission

had recognised the sanctity of themarriage tie and the duty of rearingchildren, but when so-called civilisation had reached its highest point in

paganism, not only was the indissoluble character of wedded life utterlyignored, but its duty to the racewas looked upon as an intolerableburden, to be cast off as unworthyof freemen. Hence, in the time of

Augustus, the very highest andnoblest Roman families were dyingout for want of heirs ; while lower

down the rungs of the social ladderself-inflicted extinction was, a historian tells us, obtaining far andwide, desolating whole provinces,and even Rome itself.

The far-seeing Augustus, realisingthe revolting state of things, addressed himself to the task of at

tempting to stem the tide of corruption which was sapping the veryfoundations on which his empirerested family life.

With infinite patience and per

severance he succeeded at length,in the teeth of opposition, in framing


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The Second Eve 19

and passing laws punishing adulteryas a civil crime, fining profligate

celibacy, and rewarding fruitful

marriages. But if these lawsthemselves bear witness to the in

iquitous state to which a shameless

race had come through its scorn andcontempt of its mothers and sisters,their utter impotence to deal effect

ively with the widespread evil isa proof, if proof were needed, thatno merely human legislation cantouch the springs of moral action.

Augustus, as he stood beside thedeath - bed of his empire expiringthrough moral suicide, was forced toconfess that not even he could prescribe an antidote to neutralise the

poison which was infecting its life-

blood, bringingit

swiftlyto inevit

able destruction.

What Augustus failed to achieveby force of will and law, Mary,under God, accomplished by thesimple fiat of her will ; where the

greatest Roman Emperor faileda simple village maiden, as we shallnow see, succeeded :


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20 Mary s Social Mission"

Sumens illud aveGabriel! s ab ore,Funda nos in pace,Mutans Evae nomen."

Come with me, my Lords Cardinals, and dear brethren, in spirit,

and, leavingbehind the

cityof the

Caesars, let us cross the tideless Mediterranean, and make our way throughthe plains of Israel, till, beyondEsdraelon, nestling in the bosom ofthe highlands of Galilee, we catchsight of the most obscure village of

the most obscure province of Rome,called Nazareth.

" Can any good come out ofNazareth

"

; can any balm for thehealing of the nations be gatheredin that high-perched hamlet beyondthe reach of civilisation ; can

anyvirgin fountain of life,

"

purerthan foam on central ocean tost,"be there found to send forth its

cleansing stream to purify thenations of the earth ? Look up,listen, and be satisfied :

"

Behold,

an angel is sent by God to a cityof Galilee, called Nazareth, to a


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The Second Eve 21

Virgin, and the Virgin s name wasMary."

In that interview with Gabriel

Mary is asked to give her consentto become the Mother of God. Butshe, mindful of her vow of virginity,

dearer to her than pearls beyondprice, cannot see her way consistently with it to become a mother,till, the angel assuring her that eventhis is possible with God, the modestmaiden bows her assent, saying :

"

Behold the handmaiden of the

Lord, be it done unto me accordingto Thy word." In that meetingbetween Mary and the good spiritthe disgrace and degradationbrought on the fairest portion of ourrace by Eve s seduction were morethan repaired, for

"

in the world ssad aspirations, One Success," inthe Immaculate Virgin - Mother ofGod, every woman, whether virginor mother, recognises her ideal oftrue and pure womanhood an idealto be respected and revered for all

time,in all

lands, by all men. Didnot the Second Eve with her own


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lips proclaim that it should be so ?Did not Mary utter, as alreadywe have said, the prophetic wordwhen, shortly after the Annunciation,she stood upon the threshold ofthe holy priest s house, locked in thearms of her sainted cousin Elizabeth,and declared :

"

From henceforth allgenerations shall call me blessed

"

?

And was not that canticle of theIncarnation a song of triumph, inwhose chorus every member ofMary s sex may gladly and with

conscious pride join to the full compass of her voice ?

Not only is Mary ever-blessed because she sprang from the hand ofthe Triune God " Coming forth asthe morning, rising fair as the

moon, bright as the sun, shiningin the Temple of God as the morningstar in the midst of a cloud

"

; notblessed merely, because later on shewas to appear in the heavens as

"

the Woman clothed with the sun,with the twelve stars about her

brow, and the moon beneath herfeet

"

; but blessed also, and most


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The Second Eve 23

especially in our eyes, because inher and through her woman wasto be blessed with a blessing thatshould be for the healing of thenations. Well, then, may the Brideof Christ, the Church, turn to theSecond

Eve,

"

the blessedamongwomen," and exclaim :

"

O, thou

glory of Jerusalem, thou joy of

Israel, thou honour of thy people"

;

and well may we too lift up ourvoices with that of the Church, andin full choir proclaim to all the

world that Mary is the First andOnly

Mother whose Virgin bosom was un-crost

With the least shade of thought tosin allied ;

Woman above all women glorified,Our tainted nature s solitary bc.at:

The world, my brethren, isgoverned more by ideals than byideas, more by example than byprecept. Accordingly, the unique


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moral and social statusuniversally

recognised in every Christiannation as belonging to Mary sdevout sex is to be attributed andascribed not, indeed, so much to theteaching of Christ s Church as tothe example of Christ s Mother.

Mary s example is most truly apotent factor and a really vital

energy penetrating and permeatingevery Christian family going tomake up the Christian state. Thusis the Second Eve more to theSecond Adam than the fallen Evewas to the fallen Adam : she isMater viventium, the Mother of all

living in Christ. She it is whomay be said to rule the Christianhome. Yes : the Christian home :does it not owe its sweet orderliness

and its pure loveliness as well toM?rv, the Second Eve ? Home,we are told, is the place of peace,"

the shelter not only from all injury,but from all terror, doubt, anddivision. And wherever a true wifecomes, this home is

alwaysround

her. The stars only may be over


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The Second Eve 25

her head ; the glowworm in thenight-cold grass may be the onlyfire at her foot, but home is yetwherever she is, and for a noblewoman it stretches far round her,better than ceiled with cedar or

paintedwith

vermilion, sheddingits quiet light far for those who elsewere homeless." Oh, what an uplifting influence does not theChristian wife exert upon himwhose partner and helpmate she isand whose home she is !

Listen to the poet giving expression to King Arthur s mind uponthis subject :

"

I knowOf no more subtle master under HeavenThan is the maiden passion for a maid,

Not onlyto

keep downthe base in

man,But teach high thoughts and amiablewords

And courtliness and the desire of fameAnd love of truth and all that makes a

man."

And to come to a later date, what,indeed, \vas Beatrice but an influence


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to purify and sanctify the soul ofDante ? The mere smile of themaiden as she passed sufficed toflood the poet s soul with joy andpeace, to blot out his pride, anddispose his soul to virtue ; andwhen she appeared to him in thetopmost point of purgatory it wasnot to receive mere flattery and

empty praise but, on the contrary,blame for not having vowed to hera love that was pure and sweet

enough for one whose ideal was

Mary, who will have no one"

Following false images of good thatmake

No promise perfect."

Listen again to the Christian

type of woman as presented to usin St Bathilda, Queen of the Franks.

"

Being of Saxon race," says thechronicler,

"

she was of a graciousand subtle form, and of a beautifuland cheerful countenance. To theking her husband she showed herselfas

anobedient

wife,to the

princesas a mother, to the priests as a


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The Second Eve 27

daughter, to young men and boysas the best of nurses, to her friendsas splendidly loyal and true. Tothe poor she was always distribut

ing alms, and to Christ, the HeavenlyKing, always commending herselfwith tears."

"

Happy the men," exclaims theancient chronicler,

"

to whom Godhas given wives and mothers suchas are to be seen throughout Christendom."

Did time permit, my brethren,I might here enumerate a very litanyof sainted names under the title ofwife or mother, cited from anyChristian nation under the sun, eachone of them conspicuous for adelicacy, a dignity, and a purity,borrowed from the ever - blessed

Virgin-Mother. With reason, then,did pagans who were witnesses of thewr ords and works of this new creation,called into being by Mary s example,exclaim :

"

Quales feminas habentChristiani"

If toMary,

underGod,

we owethe Christian home, it was she,


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as StAmbrose reminds us, who

in

it raised the standard of virginity,an ensign never before unfurled,as the rallying-point for those wish

ing to signalise themselves in Hisservice who born of a Virginwas Himself a Virgin, and who,as St Augustine tells us, is followedby a bodyguard of virgins singinga song which others may hear butcannot utter. And what a braveand glorious troop it is, includingsuch names as Agnes, Cecilia,

Ursula, Hilda, Mildred, Bridgetof

Kildare, Ethelreda, and Winefride,and ten thousand times ten thousand others, called from the uttermost part of the earth to the VirginStandard, and armed each one ofthem in defence of it with thestrength of ten, because her heartis pure.

Observe then, my brethren, thatthe prototype set up before theChristian woman is not the Spartanmother, or the Roman matron, or

theVestal

virgin,but the ever-

blessed Woman, who is the Virgin-


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The Second Eve 29

Mother. Nor is her image, herexample, her life, and characterconfined merely to the domesticand social life of Christendom, but itbroods no less over its philosophy,its literature, its poetry, and its

painting, as though the arts wouldunite in saying of her :

" All higher knowledge in her presencefalls

Degraded; wisdom in discourse with herLoses, discountenanced, and like folly

shows."

Nay, I do not hesitate to saythat the Church is in no small measure indebted to woman for manyof the more brilliant names adorning the list of sainted heroes whichshe holds

upbefore her children

for their admiration and imitation.Take, for example, such saints asFrancis of Sales, Louis of France, orFrancis the Seraphic, or Benedictand Augustine, or Gregory andJerome, not to mention a score and

more of others equally familiar toyou ; and let me ask you : Where


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did these giants among men learnthose special lessons in the artof Divine Love which have madethem so deservedly attractive andso popular with the faithful, irres

pective of nationality ? You willtell me they were taught the finer

touches of delicate sympathy withthe suffering and the sorrowfulchildren of humanity by the spiritually-gifted women with whom itwas their privilege to have been

brought into contact. Truth to

tell, there are phases in the all-

embracing character of Christ rarelyfound in men who have not felt theinfluence of woman. It is hermission as Mary s representativeon earth to soften, sweeten, andchasten man, and so in her hands

he becomes more truly Christlikein his character and more Christ-like in his sympathies.

To summarise what Mary s socialmission as the Second Eve has beento Christianity I will say with amodern rationalistic historian :k Because of her and through her,


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The Second Eve 31

woman was elevated to her rightfulposition, and the sanctity of weakness became recognised as well asthe sanctity of sorrow. No longerthe slave or tool of man, no longerassociated only with the ideas of

degradation and sensuality, womanrose in the person of the Virgin-Mother into a new sphere, andbecame the object of a reverential

homage of which antiquity had hadno conception. Love was idealised,the moral charm and beauty offemale excellence were fully felt, anew type was called into being, anew sort of admiration was everywhere fostered. Into a harsh and

ignorant and benighted age thisideal type infused a conceptionof gentleness and purity unknown

to the proudest civilisations of thepast. ... In

*

the many millionswho in many lands and many ageshave striven with no barren desireto mould their characters into herimage, in those holy maidens whoout of love of Mary have separatedthemselves from the glories and


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pleasures of the world to seek in

fastings and vigils and humblecharity to render themselves moreworthy of her benediction, in thenew sense of honour, in the chivalrous respect, in the refinement oftastes displayed in all the walks of

Society in these and in many otherways we detect the influence of theBlessed Virgin Mary. All that wasbest in Europe clustered round thisideal of woman, and it is the originof many of the purest elements ofour civilisation."

Yes, my brethren, to the observantstudent of history there is, perhaps,nothing more striking in the makingof Europe than the part played inalmost every department and pursuit of life by Mary s fair and

gentle followers. Who would care todeny that the contrast betweenwoman s position within and withoutthe pale of Christianity is always,and nearly everywhere, as the difference between light and darkness,day and night ? In vain will yousearch through the purest and


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The Second Eve 33

brightest pages of pagan literaturefor a galaxy of names to mate thosewhich shine forth, like constellations,on almost any chapter dealing withthe story of Christianity.

Hence, we must conclude that,

whereverthe

"

world-wide Mother "

has been recognised as the archetypeof woman, there have her devoutand gentle handmaidens been givena sphere of influence and a place ofhonour which, so long as Mary shallretain her hold upon the world, theycan never lose.

And indeed, when we glance atour immediate environment, or lookback upon the last three gloriousPontificates, we are free to confess wecan detect no signs of any diminution on the part of the faithful intheir whole - hearted devotednessto her whom they address as themost prudent, most venerable,most renowned Virgin ; as theinviolate, amiable, and admirableMother

; the Refuge of sinners, theComfort of the

afflicted,the

Helpof

Christians, the Queen of men and


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of angels. On the contrary, throughout the Universal Church, we seea most sure and steady growth(especially fostered in the numerouscongregations and confraternities),of devotion to her whom they claimas their

"

Mother, Queen, and Advocate."

But what need have we to askthe experience of others in orderto bring home to us the reality ofMary s rightful place in the economyof the Incarnation ? For us whoare among her children, "mourningand weeping in this vale of tears,"it is altogether superfluous to borrowfrom others what we ourselvesalready possess in ample abundance.We know, and do we not know itwith a knowledge which is one of thedearest treasures of

life,that to

Mary, after Jesus, we are moredeeply indebted for all that smoothesthe rough ways of this present life,for all that soothes its sufferingsand sweetens its sorrows, than to anyother of God s creatures ? Glanceback but for a moment upon the


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The Second Eve 35

ways by which you have come, andI tell you, no matter whether theyhave been shaded by sorrow orflooded with sunshine or chequeredby both, you must acknowledgethat the

"

blessed among women"

and the most blessed of all mothers,has been through all your paths morethan a mother to you, and that sheto whom God hath done mightythings hath through Him done mightythings for you also ; so that you,no less than St Bernard, can from

yourown

experience proclaimto the world :" No one ever had

recourse to her protection without

obtaining relief"; and, with the

Church, that"

no one ever fled toher patronage and had his petitiondespised or denied."

Thanks be to God, we, the mystical members of Christ, have theguarantee of His expiring utterance

assuring us that this should be so.For, as He lay dying on the Cross,did He not say

"

Behold thyson," and "Behold thy mother" ;and what, let me ask you, was that


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save an all but creative word andsacramental sign, teaching the wholeChurch that, as He Himself throughMary came to us, so would He haveus by Mary go to Him ? Providedthat we, on our part, in this valeof tears, continue to look uponher as

"

our life, our sweetness, andour hope," she on hers, when thissame exile shall be ended, will

" showus the blessed fruit of her womb,Jesus."

" O clement, O loving, O sweet VirginMary

!

"

On earth, then, as in heaven, thereis no pause in the praise and worshipof God s " Perfect One."

" When Jesus looks upon thy face,His heart with

raptureglows ;

And in the Church by His sweet graceThy blessed worship grows."

What a refining, elevating, andspiritualising influence does shenot exercise, this

" Woman clothedwith the sun,"

throughher devout

clients, upon the sons of men ; what


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The Second Eve 37

a power for checking evil and promoting good is in their hands ; withwhat a magic delicacy do they notbestow sympathy, mitigate pain,and alleviate sorrow ; how wiselydo they inspire virtue and create

a very atmosphere of purity wheresoever they come. Follow them fromtheir homes into the slums ofpoverty and misery, or into thefever wards of the hospital, or the

nursing homes of the sick, or indeedwhere you will, for always and where-ever there is wrong to be redressed,or suffering to be relieved, or sadnessto be comforted, or sorrow to be

pitied, or loss to be mourned,there you will find self-sacrificing,self - forgetful Christian women,practising the lessons learned atthe feet of their Mistress and their

Queen the Virgin-Mother.And here, lest perchance some

one among my hearers, alien to theChurch, may feel disposed to callto account the strict accuracy of

my statements, permit me to cite,in support of them, the testimony


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of one who has studied from withoutthe wondrous influence of Maryupon the Church.

"

I am persuaded, after the most careful examination," writes this student of

history,"

that the worship of the

Madonna has been one of the noblestand most vital graces of Catholicism,and has never been otherwise than

productive of true holiness of lifeand purity of character. Therehas probably not been an innocent

cottagehome

throughoutthe

lengthand breadth of Europe, during thewhole period of vital Christianity,in which the imagined presenceof the Madonna has not givensanctity to the humblest dutiesand comfort to the sorest trials of

the lives of women ; and everybrightest and loftiest achievementof the arts and strength of manhoodhas been the fulfilment of theanswered prophecy of the Israelitemaiden : He that is mighty hathmade me

great,and

holyis His

name. "

Yes ; and let me, in gratitude, add


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The Second Eve 39

that, among the twelve millionsof Catholics who under the liberty-giving flag of England exercisetheir religion unmolested, and amidan equal number of our co-religionistsenjoying beneath the star-spangled

banner of America an inalienableright no less marked, there has beenever since the proclamation, nowfifty years ago, of the dogma definingher Immaculate Conception, a steadytightening of the love-ties betweenthem and her who shields purewomen and strengthens brave men.

And now, my Lords Cardinals,Right Rev. Fathers, and dearBrethren, let me conclude thisdiscourse, spoken to remind you ofthe world s indebtedness to Maryas the Second

Eve, by especiallyexhorting my fellow countrymen andcountrywomen not to forget thatwe, the liegemen and vassals ofher dowry, are bound by quite exceptional ties of fealty and homageto this

"

Lady mighty as she isgreat."

If Albion, that gemlike land


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set in the silver sea ; if that rock-bound home, studded with shrinescalled by her name ; if even Anglo-Saxon England can make good theproud boast of ..V having been the

very first to keep, the feast of Mary sConception as a

"

great and joyousfestal day" (though Ireland mayhave caught a glimpse of its

morning rising yet earlier still)then, surely, on a unique occa

sion such as this, when delegatesfrom every nation under the

sun are met here, in the centreitself of Christendom, to commemorate with a splendour, pomp, and

solemnity rarely seen before thismiraculous immaculate event, itis but fitting and appropriate thatwe of

Englandshould be here not

only as the representatives of ourCatholic forefathers, Mary s devotees,but also as the living witnesses ofthe tradition of England s devotion to that Conception, which, asa rich heirloom, has been so faith

fully handed down to us.And while we offer homage and


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The Second Eve 41

praise and thanksgiving no less onour own behalf to her whom " allgenerations call the Blessed," letus remember to implore, with a verystorm of prayer, that Mary s Dowry,our island home, may be in no distantday given back to her, and thatEngland may thus through herbecome once more restored to its

rightful place as a great Catholicnation.

" And now fixing our gazeUnto that visage most resembling Christ,For in her splendour only shall we winThe power to look on Him,"

let us raise our voices to her the

greatest of the great and the mightiest of the mighty, the fairest of the

fair,the loftiest of the

lofty, andthe

holiest of the holy in God s creation,beseeching her to incline her graciouscountenance, and to stretch forthher sheltering arms, that in themEngland may regain what Irelandhas never lost faith and trust in

the united love of the Mother andthe Child Divine. May that most


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fruitful blessing rest upon ourbeloved King and Queen and their

royal house, and may it extend tothe farthest limit of our world-wide

Empire !" Nos cum prole pia

Benedicat Virgo Maria."


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THE WOMANTHAT WASA SINNER"


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Carlo Dolci\ [A linari

THE MAGDALEN


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" The Woman that was aSinner." Words spokenat the Church of Notre

Dame de Bon Voyage,Cannes. Lent 1898.

" And behold, a woman that was inthe city, a sinner." ST LUKE vii. 37.

YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESSES, RIGHTREV. FATHERS, AND DEAR BRETHREN,

The woman whose name, out ofa delicacy of feeling, the Evangelisthas in my text suppressed, and whois introduced to us in the character

of a sinner, I take to be the sisterof Martha and Lazarus, whose homewas at Bethany. In doing so I amfollowing a cherished tradition con

cerning her in the Catholic Church.

According to it, the woman heredescribed as "a sinner

"

is Maryof Magdala, or Mary Magdalen,

45


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46 The Woman that was a Sinner

who, after her conversion, became,like the other members of her family,very dear to Jesus Christ. Refer

ring to them, the Beloved Disciplesays :

"

Jesus loved Martha, and hersister Mary, and Lazarus."

At the time whenMary

"

was inthe city, a sinner," Jesus Christ,

"

the Friend of sinners," was therealso. He was staying at Nairn,"

preaching and evangelising the

Kingdom of God"

; showing forthHis miraculous powers, provingHimself to be God in the flesh. Inits streets His voice was heardproclaiming :

" The blind see, thelame walk, the lepers are madeclean, the deaf hear, the dead rise

again, to the poor the Gospel is

preached

"

;

"

nighto the

gateof

the city" His power was felt, for,meeting there a funeral procession,He touched the bier, and forthwithan only son was restored in healthto his widowed mother. Thus bythe magic of His presence, by the

power of His word, and by the mightof His deed, did the

" Son of Man "


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The Woman that was a Sinner 47

win a way into the hearts of thepoor people of Nairn, who, in theirenthusiasm on account of what theyheard and saw, lifted up their voicesas they ran through the narrow,winding streets of their town,

shouting :"

A great Prophet is risenamong us ; and God hath visitedHis people."

While God was thus visiting Hispeople of Nairn, Mary Magdalen, itwould seem, happened to be stayingthere. Tradition says that while

yet a mere girl she was enticed awayfrom her peaceful home at Bethany,and married to one Pappus, who,growing jealous of her, finally deserted her, and that it was then,when her life, lonely and blighted,craved for

sympathy,that she

became entangled with Pandera,an officer of Magdala. What thistradition is worth we have no meansof knowing with any certainty, butthis much we do know, that St John,speaking of her at the time to which

I refer, calls her"

a sinner," and theword which he uses, coupled with the


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tradition of her extreme beauty, andof her profligacy, which has comedown tousfrom Talmudist and Christian writers alike, as well as the whole

setting of the beautiful and touchingstory of her conversion at the feet

of Our Saviour, seem to leave nodoubt as to the true character ofthe sin which was washed out inthe house of Simon the Pharisee.Nevertheless, as I have alreadystated, St John, with a refinementof feeling which we cannot too muchpraise, omits the name of the sinas he does the name of the sinner.

It was then, while Magdalen wasplaying the part of a public sinnerin Nairn, while she was vainly seek

ing, like so many others before and

since her time, to satisfy the soul shunger with the Dead Sea fruit ofsin, that she came upon the pathof the sinner s true Friend. Perhapsshe was present at the city s gatewhen He restored to the widow sembrace her only son as they were

carrying him outside the walls forburial ; or perhaps it was her good


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The Woman that was a Sinner 49fortune to have heard the Divine

panegyric pronounced not longafterwards on the hair-clad Baptist.Nay, it is not at all impossible thatshe may have been on the outskirts

of the throng which pressedabout

Him when, on another occasion,He spoke the words which have eversince been the comfort of everysorrow-stricken soul, and even nowring out clear, a harmony of heaven,above the din and discord and

despair of the human life of to-day,:" Come to Me all ye that labourand are burdened, and I will refresh

you." However, whether it was alook or a word, a smile or a miracleof

"

the Son of Man " that firststirred the heart of

"

the womanthat was a sinner," we cannotpositively say. We are not even toldby the inspired writer what motiveit was that in the first instance drew

Magdalen to seek and find ourLord. Likely enough the rumour ofHis

giftof

speech,of His command

of nature, and of His empire overhearts had reached her ears as she


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SQ The Woman that was a Sinner

walked, shameless, through the city,and her curiosity had been aroused.And so she may have been led tofollow the crowdjthat went afterHim, attracted perhaps by a desire,not so much to hear what He hadto say, as to look upon His face.

Poor Magdalen ! When she haddrawn near enough to catch sightof Him, when, for the first time, her

eyes fell full on that countenance,so intensely human although so

ineffably Divine,she felt in her soul

a quickening never felt before. Howto account for it she knew not, itwas stronger than herself, she couldnot pluck her eyes away still shegazed on in wonder, in awe ; sheheld her breath to listen, and she

drank in, with a thirst never experienced before, the flow of that

Divine eloquence, which seemed tothrill her soul with a new life, revealing to her the awful contrastbetween the sanctity of God andthe foulness of sin.

The marvellous utterance hasceased, the crowd disperses, Magdalen


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The Woman that was a Sinner 51takes her way home from the DivinePresence with slow and falteringsteps, as though oppressed by the

weight of some heavy burden. Sin,which she had reckoned so little ofhitherto, which she had come tolook upon almost as a necessityof life, sin, which she had so oftenmade merry over, or dressed outin tine phrases, or used to seasona joke, sin grew before the eyes ofher soul into a Shape, monstrous,

horrible, detestable. The words ofthe Messiah had stripped all itsdisguises away, and she saw it asGod sees it as it is. The weightof guilt, of shame, seemed to threatento crush out her very life. Yetagain and again, even when she

seemed on the point of sinkinghelpless, hopeless, beneath theconsciousness of her sins, a secretvoice seemed to whisper in her ear,as though the refrain of some hymn :

"

All ye who labour and are heavyburdened come to Me, and I willrefresh

you."

What was the burden of which


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52 The Woman that was a Sinnerthe Prophet spoke ? She remembered His pleading eyes and outstretched arms : " Come to Me ! "

Did He then mean literally whatHe had said ? Could it be thatOne so sinless could desire the com

pany of the sinful, and invite thewicked and transgressors to ventureinto His saintly Presence, that theymight lay down, at His sacred feet,their burden of filthy pleasures andshameful sins ? Oil ! what wouldshe not

giveto be certain that in

that gracious invitation she herselfhad been included. But it seemedalmost like presumption even to

hope so. And, even supposing herown sad case had been speciallycontemplated in that Divine appeal,

how could it help her, unless shebroke with the past ? How couldshe ever break asunder those chainsof her own forging which boundher hand and foot to evil ? Nay,even if that Prophet were actuallyto

putforth His miraculous

poweron her behalf, and release her fromthese habits of sin, what guarantee


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The Woman that was a Sinner 53had she that, with the return of

temptations, she would not relapseinto them, so that her last statewould become even worse than thefirst ? What remained for her to do,whither could she turn in her misery?She fell upon her knees, and buriedher face in her hands, and in agonyof spirit groaned aloud. She triedto pray, and as she wrestled in

prayer she seemed to gain confidence,till at length light came to hermind, warmth to her heart, andstrength to her will. WhenMagdalen rose from prayer shestood resolved to go forth, and atall risks to surrender herself unconditionally to Him whose gracious

words kept ever sounding in herears : " Ye that are heavy burdenedcome to Me."

Now, while"

the sinner in the

city" was thus struggling between

her higher and lower nature, whileshe was emerging from the fight offaith with the signs of victoryalready gleaming on her brow, itchanced that one Simon, a Pharisee,


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sent an invitation to our Lord ask

ing Him"

to eat with him." Therumour of the invitation soon spreadabroad, and became the occasionof no little comment among thevarious sections of the communityat Nairn. Was not Simon, it wasasked, setting at defiance all theunwritten laws which regulatedPharisaical society ? It was an

open secret that not only were thePharisees as a party embittered

against Jesus Christ, but that Hetoo had been at no pains to concealHis strong disapproval of theirwhole policy and spirit. If it wasstrange that the invitation had been

given, it seemed stranger still thatit had not been declined.

But we may venture to conjecturewith no want of charity that themotives urging Simon to ask ourLord to sup with Him were notaltogether of a disinterested character. No doubt he honestly desired to meet that Jesus of Nazarethwhose name was on everyone s lips,and he was glad to entertain a


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The Woman that was a Sinner 55Preacher who was said to workmiracles in confirmation of Hiswords. Further, the Pharisee wouldconsult his own best interests byplacing so popular a Prophet underan

obligationto

him,and it

mighteven be the means of checking opportunely any possible public utteranceunfavourable to the party whichhe represented. Perhaps this hos

pitality would win for him whathe had so long sought for in vain,the reputation of being a man oflarge and generous views, with asoul above mere party spirit. Onthe other hand, when we ask ourselves why did Our Lord acceptthe hospitality of a man who, asHe knew only too well, was halfashamed of entertaining Him, andwho, to avert criticism, wouldstudiously omit to offer Him theordinary courtesies which prevailin the East when a guest isreceived by his host, we have theanswer in the

verycharacter of the

Divine Guest Himself. The " Friendof sinners

"

was ready and willing


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5 6 The Woman that was a Sinner

to endure all these slights and insults,which He foresaw. He even yearnedfor the approach of this hour of Hishumiliation, because He knew thatat this banquet He would meet

"

thewoman that was a sinner." Forher sake, in order to give her in

exchange for the"

burden of sin :"

the yoke of peace," Jesus acceptedthe invitation to eat with thePharisee. Though our Lord s finenature felt a slight like a wound,

yet Hedid

not pauseto

reckon upthe cost when there was questionof winning the soul of a sinner.Had he not come to save sinners ?Magdalen was one, that was enough.Accordingly Jesus Christ lookedforward with longing to that momentwhen, at His feet, Magdalen shouldfind salvation and He could sendher thence with the blessed word :" Go in peace."

Of course, the little town of Nairnwas astir on the evening of Simon s

banquet given in honour of Jesusthe Prophet. I have already spokenof the difference of opinion between


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The Woman that was a Sinner 57the busybodies of the neighbourhood as to the propriety or wisdomof their fellow-townsman s conduct,and they awaited, with no little

impatience the hour when themeeting between the host and hisGuest should take place.

The sun was already setting whenmost of the invited guests had

passed up to the great house, andlittle groups of citizens began tomove stealthily in the same direction.

They knew verywell that the

lawof hospitality which obtained in theEast was so universally respectedthat the Pharisee would not dareto act in the teeth of it, and forbidtheir crossing his threshold, movingfreely under the verandah, lookinginto the dining-room, or even penetrating into the house itself, where

they could witness, as freely as thoseincluded in the dinner party, allthat went to make up the evening sentertainment.

That very evening Mary Magdalenwas abroad. Under the cover oftwilight she had stolen forth from


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the struggle of prayer in the hopeof meeting Him who had made sodeep an impression on her soul.And yet, as the story of her pastlife rose in terrible distinctnessbefore her mind, and as in herloneliness she

thoughtwhat that

life might have been had she onlyfollowed the advice of Martha andher brother Lazarus, nay, whatactually it would have been had sheonly listened in patience to her ownbetter self, she almost began to hopeshe would not encounter Him.After all what would He, what couldHe think of one, whose path in lifehad been strewn with broken vowsand with glorious gifts abused ?Others might hope for pardon, theyhad not sinned so

deeply,but what

place of repentance could be foundfor her ? Buried in these bitter

thoughts, she chances to hear oneof the passers-by cry out to a friendthat Jesus Christ is already at supperin the house of Simon the Pharisee.

A Pharisee, she knew, had no humanpity for a frailty so notorious as


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The Woman that was a Sinner 59hers had been through all the bordersof Magdala. Nay, more, she hadno doubt that to venture into hishouse would be to expose herselfto public criticism, and perhaps to

insult, even if some pretext were not

found for putting her forth, andclosing the door in her face. Wasit then prudent on her part, was ita matter of duty, to court suchtreatment ? Had she sufficientcourage to support the gaze of the

many scornful eyes which would bebent upon her if

"

the sinner in the

city"

intruded into so august a

company ? She did not stay toargue with these agonising objections which crossed and recrossedher mind. This was her first, it

mightbe her

last, opportunityof

forgiveness ; at any hazard shewould seize it. By one supremeeffort, at one bound, so to say, she

over-passed all the obstacles in her

path, and with a heroism good forus to remember, she resolved to

venture all." Come to Me." " Come to Me


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60 The Woman that was a Sinnerall

yethat labour and are

heavyburdened " the words kept chimingin her ears. She would go to Himthrough fire, if need be, throughshame worse than death, if only inthe end she could be near to Him.Gathering up the folds of her dress

she conceals in it an alabaster boxof precious ointment, which shallbe spent upon Him whose gracioussweetness has already drawn afterHim her sin-burdened soul.

The board is spread with rareviands and

costly wines,with

fragrant flowers and luscious fruit, whenSimon, conducting his guests tothe supper-room, bids them taketheir appointed places, and reclineon the couches set around the tables.

Presently swarthy slaves pass noise

lessly to and fro in attendance on theguests with movements as gracefuland measured as if they were pacingto the music of the half-concealed

orchestra, while the townsfolkand the unbidden onlookers, nowthat the

banquet has begun,dis

tribute themselves where best they


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may in order to gratify their curiosityto the full.The feeling of constraint which

marked the opening of the feastrelaxes a little as the entertainment

proceeds. The guests speak together more freely ; there is merriment, and not ill-bred laughter ;the host is congratulating himselfon the complete success of hisscheme ; when lo ! without warning,suddenly there is a pause in theconversation a felt silence, abruptas

thoughan

earthquakeshock

had been experienced ; every soundof laughter is checked, even themost giddy have become suddenlyserious. The draped form of awell-known figure is seen to flingits darkness across the gaily-lighted

supper-room. The guests look up,exchange glances with one another,scarcely trusting their own eyes.

"

Surely," they thought,"

it cannotbe. It must be someone resemblingher. It is not possible that a sinnerso well known as Magdalen shoulddare thus to transgress all laws


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62 The Woman that was a Sinnerof decency, and to show herself inso distinguished an assemblage onsuch an occasion." And yet itwas impossible to mistake that well-poised figure, even the outlines ofthat beautiful form, the gracefulmien, the shapely head with its

wealth of beautiful hair. The youngmen sit up on their couches, andwhisper to one another : "It is, itis she it is Magdalen herself !

"

Meanwhile the woman who, to theintense indignation of Simon, hascaused this strange commotion athis supper-table, has glided almostlike one wr alking in her sleep acrossthe length of the room. Preoccu

pied seemingly by some overpowering thought, the sinner ex

changes glances with^no one, but

is borne onward past^them all tillshe reaches the couch from whichthe feet of the Divine Guest areturned towards her. There, trem

bling with emotion, she pauses, her

eyes riveted on the sacred feet sooften wearied in the pursuit ofsinners. As she gazes, big hot


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tears, like the first drops of a summerstorm, begin to fall upon thoseunsandalled harbingers of peace.Broken with grief the Magdalensinks to her knees, and as she doesso her unloosed hair, like a silken

veil, falls over her, concealing fromthe rude gaze of Simon s guests hersorrow and her shame.

Then at last, from the full fountainof her heart, gushes over herSaviour s holy feet the uncheckedstream of sorrow burning, contrite

tears,which with her

long, flowinghair she strives to wipe away,vainly, again and again. And still,as she washes those feet with hertears and wipes them with her hair,she almost fancies that she can readwritten upon them the awful storyof her past life its rebellion, itstreachery, its treason against the

majesty of her only true Friend, herSaviour, her God. Ah ! what anagony it is to her ! How can sheundo what has been already done ;how shall she blot out these sinstains upon the feet of Him, the


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sorrow ? By what name to callthis new life which thrilled herthrough and through Magdalenknew not ; all she knew was this,that her bold act of faith was nowmore than rewarded, her hope morethan realised, and her love morethan satisfied at the feet of Himwho had said : " Come to me yewho are heavy burdened, and I willrefresh you." She had come ; shehad been refreshed.

Meanwhile no word had beenspoken.

Magdalens heart was too

full of emotion to utter a word ;our Lord s heart was too full ofcompassion to speak ; while Simon sheart was too full of what he considered righteous indignation toallow him to break silence. He

looked upon this woman s intrusionas an intolerable insult offered himin his own home. That a womanwho was a notorious sinner shoulddare to defile by her impure presencehim and his company, that sheshould brush past him to stand unbidden at the feet of his chief Guest,


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was a crime which he did not knowhow to punish, simply because itwas so outrageous, so inconceivable.Could it be, he asked himself, thathe was mistaken in this Nazarene

Prophet ? Surely, if He were aProphet, He would know whatkind of woman this Magdalen was.And did He know, why then, ofcourse, He would shrink from thedefilement of her touch as from a

serpent. He would spurn her fromHis feet, and, in spite of that stormof tears and those

agoniesof con

trition, He would turn away fromher as from some unclean thing.

"

Why does He not make me a sign,"thought Simon,

" and give me apretext for ejecting her from the

supper-room, and relieving us all

from the scandal of her presence ?"

While Simon is thus arguing withinhimself, and while his guests arestill hushed in surprise and expectation, Jesus Christ, reading the

thoughts that were uppermost in the

mindof His

host, yetnot

wishingto embarrass one who from motives


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however selfish had shown Him akindness, conveys His answer andHis rebuke in the form of a parable.

"

Simon," said our Lord gently,"

I have somewhat to say to thee.""

Master, say on," was the curt

reply.

"

A certain creditor hadtwo debtors, the one owed fivehundred pence, the other fifty, andwhereas they had not wherewithto pay, he forgave them both.Which therefore of the two lovethhim most ? " Simon, still as slowto catch our Lord s true meaningas David was slow to understandthe parable of Nathan, answered

carelessly, with the assumed indifference and languid manner of a manwho thinks it fine not to appear tobe interested too easily ; "I supposethat he to whom he forgave most."

Thou hast judged rightly," saidOur Lord, and then followed theapplication of the parable, the pointof which, we may be quite sure,the self-condemned Magdalen was

quicker to see than the self-righteousPharisee.


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But what must have been theemotion of her soul when Our Lord,who hitherto had given no sign of Hisrecognition of her presence, nowturned His Sacred Face towardsher, and with outstretched finger,calling attention to her as she knelt,hiding her face behind her flowinghair that covered His feet, thusaddressed the Pharisee :

"

Simon,dost thou see this woman ? Ientered into thy house, and thou

gavest Me no water for My feet, butshe with tears hath washed Myfeet, and with her hair hath wipedthem. Thou gavest Me no kiss,but she, since she came in, hath notceased to kiss My feet. My headwith oil thou didst not anoint, butshe with ointment hath anointed

My feet. Wherefore I say to thee,many sins are forgiven her becauseshe hath loved much. But to whomless is forgiven he loveth less."Simon in his confusion could notutter a word.

Our Lord turned to Magdalen,whom He refrained from calling


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by her name, which had passed intoa byword throughout the city,and said : " Thy sins are forgiventhee." Whereupon the guests atthe table began to say within themselves :

" Who is this that forgivethsins also ?

"

Jesus said to the

woman : " Thy faith hath madethee safe, go in peace." Yes ; it isfaith, the supernatural gift of God,in which every conversion begins,as it is charity, that other gift of

God, which perfects it, producing

in the soul of the penitent that peaceof God which is the earnest, as it isthe foretaste, of the bliss of heaven."Go in peace !

"

Magdalen rose toher feet, crossed the supper-room,and, passing from that house ofwonders into the darkness of night,was soon lost to sight.

Let us pause for a moment todwell on the change that had beenwrought in the soul of

"

a womanin the city, that was a sinner," whileshe knelt at the feet of Jesus Christ,in the house of Simon the Pharisee.She entered it overwhelmed with


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confusion andsorrow,

she leaves itmade whole, in peace and joy. Forthe first time since her first fall

Magdalen begins to feel that herwhole being has been set in order,attuned, even as one of the harpsof heaven, to the blessed concords

of grace."

Go in peace !"

Thewords are, as it were, sacramental,creative, producing that which theysignify, giving the peace which theydescribe. They are a peal of joybells, making ceaseless melody in

the temple of her soul, wherein notseven devils, as of old, but the HolySpirit of God now dwells. Thatnight, we may be sure, Mary ofMagdala spent in the seclusion of

prayer, praising and thanking herBenefactor, who by His preventinggrace had drawn her out of thedarkness of sin into the admirable

light of His love.

Here, my brethren, it may notbe out of place to ask ourselves this

question : What was it that con

verted Magdalen from evil to good,what was the process which changed


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her from being one of the greatestsinners in the city of Nairn to

become one of the greatest of saintsin the Church of God ? Clearlythe change was not due to anyformal set of words publicly acknow

ledging her state of sin, and as

publicly renouncing it, for, from herfirst entrance into Simon s housetill leaving it, no word of any kindseems to have escaped her lips.

" From the heart come forth evilthoughts," and

"

the things which

defile a man," Jesus Christ hassaid, and in the heart is the victoryover sin to be won. Yes, it was there,deep down in Magdalen s heart, faraway from the eyes of all but One inthe supper-room, that was wroughtthis wonderful, this beautiful con

version, which throughout theChristian world has made the nameof Magdalen the synonym for a truepenitent, who presented to God thatcontrite and humble heart which

holy David tells us He will not

despise.Who can read the story of


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Magdalens conversion, as it is told

by St Luke, without feeling his ownheart thrilled with strong emotion,and his eyes filling with tears forhis own past follies ; who can studythe action of grace, as one seesits wondrous workings made almostvisible in Magdalen s soul, withoutpraying for a larger share of it inhis own ; and who can follow thestages of her conversion, and watchin her soul the strife between graceand nature, without gaining fresh

strengthhimself to

vanquishself

in his own conflict, so incomparablyless severe ; and finally, who cannote Mary s bravery and generosity,her humility, and her contempt ofthe opinion of men, which have wonfor her, a fallen woman, the praise aswell as the forgiveness of the Son ofGod, without being conscious that

Magdalen s conversion has givenhim courage and true help to beginhis own ?

Yes, my brethren, I venture tothink that the

penitenceof

Magdalenhas brought to the feet of the


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Saviour a larger harvest of soulsthan even the innocence of John.Truly God is wonderful in Hissaints, but is He not most wonderfulin the sinners whom from sinnersHe changes into saints ?

And if, afterwatching

theexampleset us by Magdalen, we begin to feel

within our own souls the pangs ofremorse, or the call to nobler things,surely we cannot pass from thescene in which the sinner s Friendshows forth so much sweetness and

compassion without making up ourminds, like Magdalen, once and forall, to convert these stirrings of

grace into tears of compunctionfor the past, and into purposes ofamendment for the future. WhatMagdalen did, we can do ; and whatJesus did for her, he will do for us.Only bring to Him a contrite andhumble heart that is to say, aheart broken with sorrow andcrushed with shame and with theunction of His sweetness He willmake it

whole,and with the virtue

of His goodness fill it with a


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peace that surpasseth all under

standing.How ingenious are the devices of

the Redeemer s love ! Rememberever how wonderfully He smoothedthe way for the Magdalen s returnto Him ; first of all drawing her bythe cords of Adam, and then bythose of grace, till finally He heldher, a willing captive, bound to Hisfeet, nay, rather bound to His heartfor ever by the golden links of love.Mark, too, though at first He said

nothing,how observant all the

while He was of her conduct, notingeach graceful act of humble, confid

ing, and lovingkindness offeredthere at His feet, and contrastingeach of these traits of courtesy withthe several slights He met with atthe hands of His ungracious host.And once more forget not, for yourown instruction, the lesson whichthis parable teaches to the end oftime : that this same Lord, whogently rebuked Simon and delicately

praisedthe

Magdalen, althoughas

God He stands not in need of our


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goods, still, as Man, feels the stingof a slight, yet never forgets akindness.

In Him you will find a Friend,everlastingly chivalrous, unfailingly

generous. When the Magdalengave up the friendship of this world,which ever promises, ever dis

appoints, for the friendship of Himwhose gifts are ever in excess ofour deserts, she found in Our LordOne ready not only to make whatin her soul was red as scarlet here

after as white as snow, and to removeher sins from her as far as the Eastis from the West, but in Him shefound also the rare Friend withwhom to forgive means likewiseto forget. Never afterwards re

ferring to her past, or even hintingat it ever so indirectly, our Lordseems to have made use of everyopportunity to assure her that shewas now to Him not less dear,certainly,- than another who, inthe course of a flawless life, mighthave served Him with greater sted-fastness of loyalty but with less


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ardour of love. To take asingleinstance in illustration of my mean

ing. Who can ever forget thepicture representing that patheticscene in the Garden between theRisen Saviour and the repentantsinner, when to convince her, as it

would seem, that the startling eventsof the past days had in no waychanged the feelings of His Hearttowards her that He was "the sameyesterday, to-day, and for ever

"

He appeared in the guise of a

gardenerbefore her. Almost beside

herself in her despair of ever againseeing on earth her Crucified Redeemer, Magdalen had been seen

hurrying to and fro with flying feet,she knew not where, in agonisedeagerness to catch the faintest

tidings about Him, when suddenlyJesus presents Himself before her.

She, whose heart is where she believes her Lord to be, far away fromthe garden- tomb, fails at first to

recognise Him, until in the musicof His

ownfamiliar voice

He,on

the only occasion recorded in Scrip-


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ture, calls her by her name"

Mary !"

Oh ! the winning ways of Hiskindness ; oh ! how unwearied isHis love. Alas ! that we are sinners ;

. if we have hearts at all, let us lay

them down, like Magdalen, at Hisfeet. Since we now know Him tobe what He is, what rival henceforthshall compete with Him for our love?Where shall we ever find a Friendlike Him ? Ask Magdalen, and shewill tell you that in Him she discovered not only a Friend whonever upbraided her for the past,but a Friend who was ever readyto take her part, to make excusesfor her, and to sound her praises, notonce only, but whenever the occasionarose in the house of Simon thePharisee, in the house of Marthaher sister, in the house of Simon theLeper, and who on one occasionwent so far in her praise as to declare that, wheresoever His Gospelshould be preached, her acts of lov-

ingkindness to Him should be toldfor a memorial of her. Nor was His


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7 8 The Woman that was a Sinner

friendship for Magdalen misplaced,for whatever may have been thetrue history of her unhappy lifebefore she washed its stains awayin her tears upon His feet, when shehad once found there her realtreasure there ever after was foundher heart also. At his feet in thehouse of Simon of Nairn, at Hisfeet in the house of Martha of

Bethany, at His feet in the houseof Simon the Leper, at His feet onCalvary, at His feet in the garden,

Mary Magdalen has become, in herever-abiding sorrow for sin, where-ever the Gospel message of peaceis carried, the model of all truePenitents. At His feet on earth,what place will she hold in Heaven ?

Fancy, mybrethren, that the

blessed hour has arrived when we,by God s most dear mercy, shallwing our flight to the land beyondthe stars, when we have crossed thegolden threshold, and are standingwithin the precincts of the presence-

chamber of God. We raise our eyesabove the troops of Virgins, singing


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The Woman that was a Sinner 79the song which they alone may sing,above the glorious companies of

Confessors, above the armies of

Martyrs, who have dyed theirgarments white in the Blood of the

Lamb, above the twelve Apostles,

whofor the Master laid

downtheir

lives higher, higher still, even tothe steps of the Great White Throneitself, and there we see Magdalenagain, clasping in adoration thoseSacred Feet at which she first threwherself in abasement in the supper-

room of Simon the Pharisee.But oh ! how changed in appear

ance from her former self : now nolonger bathed in a flood of tears,for behold ! every tear is wipedaway from her eyes ; now no morelamenting over a bitter past, for lo !

"

the former things are passedaway." Yes, she has passed fromtime into eternity Magdalen hasexchanged a world of shadows,hypocrisy, and death for a land oftruth and light and love. Look

uponce

more, dear brethren, andlet us try to realise that she whom


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So The Woman that was a Sinner

we see so radiant, so exalted, is,nevertheless, the self-same Magdalenwho was once introduced to us as

"

a woman that was in the city, asinner," and whom afterwards wr eknew as the penitent in the houseof the scornful Pharisee. Yes, it isthe same Magdalen, only the lightof glory has completed in her beautiful soul what grace had begun, andher whole being is flooded with bliss

unspeakable, breaking forth into

transports of joy and praise. Can

we not fancy that we can distinguish,even in the full concert of themelodies of heaven, one voice unlikeall others, not loud but entrancinglysweet, the voice of the repentantsinner, of Magdalen, singing for evermore : "I have found Him whommy soul loveth ; I hold Him, and Iwill not let Him go

"

?

THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED, EDINBURGH,


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vaughan - sinless mary and sinful mary

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