St. Mary of Egypt

From her Life, -Britten by St. Soplironius, Patriarch of Jerusalem.

There was in a monastery of Palestine, a holy priest named Zosimus, who had from his childhood dedi cated himself to the love of God, and spent fifty-threa years in that community in the ex seises of a monastic life, with such perfection as to be respected and admired by all who knew him. This good father being one day tempted with a thought that nothing more was now wanting in him, and that he had already ar rived, as ha imagined, at the top of the hill of relig* ious perfection, was admonished by one appearing to him in the shape of a man, of his error, and directed by this messenger of heaven to another monastery more remote from all conversation with the world, situated in a solitary place on the banks of the river Jordan, in order to learn still higher lessons in the school of religion. In this place he found a company of angels rather than men, so great was their fervor in all that related to the service of God. They sang his divine praises every hour of the night; and in the day, whilst their hands were employed in manual labor, the psalms were always in their mouths and hearts. Here was no room for any unprofitable conversation, having made it their whole business not only absolutely to forget the world, but even every thing in the world, and to live as men quite dead to all things but the one thing necessary. Their thoughts were continually occupied on heavenly truths; — the emptiness and vanity of all such things as pass away with time, and the greatness of things eternal, were the subjects of their constant meditation. Their greatest dainties for their corporal sustenance were bread and water, whilst their souls continually feasted on the word of God and prayer.

It was the custom of these religious every year on the first Sunday of Lent, after assisting at the divine mysteries, and receiving the precious body and blood of our Lord, to go forth into the vast wilderness be-

ST. M\RY OF EGYPT. 39£ fond the river, there to spend that holy sea&on in perfect solitude. They eat but very seldom, and then only a few figs or dates, which they carried, or such herbs as grew wild in the desert, frequently singing psalms, and praying without ceasing. After spending the greatest part of Lent in this manner, they all re turned back again to the monastery, to celebrate the passion and resurrection of our Lord, contriving always to meet there against Palm-Sunday. The holy man, Zosimus, according to the custom of the others, when Lent came, crossed the river, designing to penetrate as far as he could into the heart of the desert, in hopes, as he afterwards said, of meeting with some Saint from whom he might receive instruction and edification. He took with him but slender provisions, and never eat but when necessity compelled him. When night found him. there he lay down on the ground to take a little rest; and as soon as the daylight permitted, he hastened forward, as if he had been making the best of his way towards some person of his acquaintance, halting only at certain times of the day, to sing some psalms standing, and to spend some time in prayer on his knees.

He continued his journey after this manner till about mid-lent, when one day stopping at the sixth hour, and performing his usual prayers, turned towards the East, he perceived on his right the shadow, as it were, of a human body; } \t when he had finished his devotion, turning his eyes that way he plait ly saw a person walking hastily towards the Westx whose naked body had grown quite black with the heat of the sun, and whose hair was turned white as wool. Upon this sight Zosimus was overjoyed, hoping he had now found what he sought, and therefore ho began to run with all his strength, in order to over take the person whom he perceived to fly from him, and through his earnest desire of coming up to her, he continually gained ground of her, till coming with in hearing, he cried out, " Servant of God, why dost thou fly from a sinner, and a poor old man? Who ever thou art, I conjure thee, by that God, for whose sake thou spendest thy days in this frightful desert, to let me come near thee. I beg of thee to stop a little, and not to refuse thy blessing and prayers to one who entreats thee in the name of that God who has never cast off any man that desired to come to him." Whilst he was thus calling after her, she arrived at a place that had been made hollow by the water of •* torrent, but which was now dried up; and when she had passed over to the other side, whither he not being able to follow her, she cried, " Father Zosimus, I beseech you, for God's sake, excuse my turning about to speak to you, because I am a woman and quite naked; but if you are willing to favor a poor winner with your blessing, fling over your mantle that

I may cover myself with it, and then turn towards you and receive your benediction."

The holy man, struck with astonishment to hear her call him by his name, which he was convinced she 2ould not know but by revelation, readily complied with her desire, and threw his mantle over, turning hi 3 back towards her till she had covered herself therewith; which when she had done, she asked him, what had brought him so far to see such a wretched sinner as she was? or what could he expect to know or learn from her? Having already conceived a high opinion of her sanctity, he instead of answering her, prostrated himself upon the ground, and according to the custom of the religious when they visited one another, craved her blessing. No, father, said she, falling down upon her face, it is your part to bless and to pray for me,, since you are a priest, and having for so many years served the altar, are admitted to a greater grace and light of God, and to the sacred mysteries of Jesus Christ. The amazement of Zosimus was in conceivable when he heard her speak of his being a priest, and therefore venerating the spirit of God within her, insisted the more upon her giving him her blessing first; nor would he rise from the ground till she had so far condescended as to bless him in the following manner: " Blessed be the Lord, that worketh the salvatian of souls; " to which he answered, Amen. When they both rose up, she began to inquire concerning the state of Christendom; — whether the Church enjoyed peace; — and how the faithful behaved in their respective stations? Zosimus answered, that God had doubtless heard her prayers and granted peace to the Church; but, added he, I beseech you, in his name, not to refuse a poor unworthy monk the comfort he asks for the love of Jesus Christ; which is, that you would offer up your prayers to him for tho world in general, and for me, a poor sinner, in particular, that the long and painful journey I have taken through this vast wilderness may not prove uprofitable to me. She replied, that it belonged rather to his function to pray both for her and the world; however, us obedience was a duty incumbent on her, should comply with his command.

Then turning towards the East, with hands and eyes lifted up to heaven, she prayed for a long time in silence, whilst Zosimus stood without saying a word with his eyes cast down on the ground. But finding that she continued very long in her prayer, he looked up a little, and saw that she was raised a cubit from the earth, and prayed in that manner suspended in the air, for the truth of which he afterwards called God to witness. This sight filled his soul with so much surprise and apprehension, that he cast himself upon the ground bathed in a sweat, crying out, Lord have mercy upon me. His amazement was succeeded by a thought, that perhaps all he had seen might be an illusion, and that this appearance of a woman might be some evil spirit that only pretended to pray. In the mean time she turned towards him, and answering this thought which he had conceived of her, she assured him she was no spirit, but a poor sinful woman, composed of Mesh and blood, dirt and corruption, adding that she had been baptized and was a Christian; in testimony whereof, making the sign of the cross upon her fore head, her eyes, her lips, and her stomach, she said, " God deliver us, father, from the evil spirit, and from all his snares and suggestions; for we know that he bears us an implacable hatred."

Hereupon Zosimus entreated her to tell him whc she was, — whence she came, — when, and why she re tired into this desert; — and, in a word, all that concerned her life since she came thither, as well for the glory of God as for his instruction and edification, not doubting, as he told her, but that God had brought him into that desert, and enabled him, notwithstanding his great age and weakness, to make so long a journey in so short a space of time, with no other de sign than that the wonders which his divine grace had wrought in her might be made manifest to the greater glory of his name. He added, that she need not apprehend any vain-glory in the recital of her life, since her motive would be no other than the glory of God and the comfort and instruction of a poor sinner She answered, that with respect to her life, there was indeed no room for her taking any vanity in the relating the history of it, since she had been a vessel of election, not of God, but of the devil; that she was even ready to die with shame and confusion to think of declaring all her infamous crimes, and that she apl/ivhended he would fly from her as from a serpent when he began to hear her history. However, she was resolved to be quite sincere with him, and to declare the particulars of her infamous life, in hopes that he wo"ld never cease to pray to God that she might find mercy at the last day.

Here she began to relate the history of her life, saying, that she was a native of Egypt, and had run away from her parents when she was but twelve years old, and went to Alexandria, where, falling into bad CODIpany, she quickly lost her honor, and afterwards abanJoned herself to all kinds of lewdness, as a public prostitute, for the space of seventeen years. That at the end of this time, seeing a great many persons flock towards the sea-shore in order to embark for the Holy Land, to celebrate the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross in Jerusalem, she had impudently thrust herself into their company; and both during the voyage and after her arrival at Jerusalem had made herself the devil's instrument, introducing many into a partner ship in her abominations. That when the day of the feast was come, she attempted to enter with the rest of the faithful into the church of the Holy Cross, but was repulsed by an invisible power; and though slw saw all the people about her go in with ease, and had striven on her part with all her might to enter in along with them, yet she could never advance further than the threshold, but always found herself still thrust back again into the portico. " This happening to me," said she, "three or four times, I began to consider what might be the reason that I was thus debarred the sight of the life-giving wood of the holy cross, when a salutary thought striking my mind, and opening the eyes of my soul, I concluded that it was the filthiness of my life that prevented me from entering the temple of God. Then bathed in tears and in the utmost consternation of mind, I knocked my breast, and sighing ready to break my heart, I cried, lamented and mourned at my wretched condition, till at length perceiving over my head in the place where I stood the image of the holy mother of God, I immediately addressed myself to her, and with my eyes steadfastly fixed on her picture, I said, O sacred virgin, who hast brought forth God according to the flesh, I acknowledge myself unworthy to venerate or even to look at thy image with eyes so much denied by vn cleanness as mine have been. As thou art a pure un spotted virgin both in soul and body, it is but just that thy incomparable beauty should abominate, and drive away from thee so filthy a creature as I am: nevertheless, having been taught that the God whom thou wast worthy to bring forth was made man, in order in call sinners to repentance, I beseech thee to assist me, who am here left alone destitute of all assistance. O receive the confession I here make of my sins, and permit me to enter into the church, that I may not be so unhappy as to be deprived of the sight of that precious wood to which that God-man was fastened, who was born of thee, without any prejudice to thy virginity, and on which he spilt his blood for my redemption. Ordain, 0 blessed Lady, that the door may be open unto me, though most unworthy, that [ may" salute that divine cross; and be thou responsible to Christ thy Son, that I shall never more defile myself with any of my former detestable uncleannesses, whilst I, for my part, as soon as I shall have seen the tree on which thy son vouchsafed to die, promise absolutely to renounce the world with all its wicked ways, and to de part immediately to the place to which thou, my sure ty and my guide, shall be pleased to conduct me." So far her prayer to the blessed Virgin.

Then proceeding to her narrative, she declared that after having made this prayer and promise, on attempt ing again to enter into the church she found no manner of obstacle, but went in with the utmost ease, and penetrated, notwithstanding the great crowd, as far as the sanctuary, and there had the happiness not only to ses and venerate the precious and life-giving wood, consecrate! with the blood of our Redeemer, but also

..to be sensibly affected with the experience she now felt of the inconceivable excess of God's mercy in his readiness to forgive penitent sinners. Full of these sentiments she prostrated herself upon the ground, and having kissed the sacred pavement of the sanctuary, ehe then ran out to the place where she had made her solemn promise to the blessed Virgin, where kneeling down before her image, after giving thanks for the goodness and charity she had already experienced, she offered herself ready to fulfill the promise she had made" and begged of our blessed Lady to direct her now to the place to which she would have her to go to do penance for her sins. Upon which she heard a voice as of one crying out at a distance: Go beyond the Jordan, and there thou shalt find rest. Conceiv ing these words addressed to herself, and begging of our blessed Lady not to forsake her, she arose in haste to follow this call. As she was going she met with a stranger, who gave her three pieces of money, with which she immediately went and bought three loaves; and having inquired of the baker the way that led to the river Jordan, she set forward immediately without stopping, till she arrived at the church of St. John the Baptist upon the banks of the river. Here she per formed her devotions, and received the blessed sacrament; eating during her short stay there the half of cue of her loaves, drinking of the water of the river< and using no other bed but the bare ground. On the morning after her communion she passed over to the other side of the river: " and then," continued she, " having again prayed to the blessed Virgin, my guide, to conduct, me to whatever place she pleased, I came into this desert, and from that time to this day, which I compute to be seven and forty years, I have, according to the psalmist, gene far off flying away from all company, and I abode in the wilderness, Ps. 54, looking for the mercy of my God, who saves both little and great who are converted to him."

Zosimus then inquired what she had lived upon all that time? She answered, that the two loaves and a half which she had brought with her were for a long time her only food, though they soon grew as hard as stones, so that she could eat but very little of them at a time, and that after they were consumed she lived upon what few herbs she could find in the desert. That as for clothes, those which she had brought over with her being quite worn out, she had been without any for the greatest part of the time, and had labored under inexpressible difficulties for the want of them, being broiled with excessive heat in the summer, and Buffering the extremity of cold in the winter; but that under all these hardships and necessities, together with a multitude and variety of temptations which she had to struggle with, she continued to experience to that very day the power and the goodness of God in the various vs whereby he had still preserved her poor soul and body. So that when she called to mind from how many evils the Lord had delivered her, she felt herself nourished and supported with a never-failing food, and found a banquet which satisfied her whole appetite IP the hopes she entertained of her eternal salvation.

Zosimus desiring also to learn more particulars from her with relation to the conflicts she must have sustained, more especially upon her first entering on this new kind of life, she acknowledged that for the first seventeen years she was in a manner under perpetual temptations; — that she suffered much from hunger and thirst, and was frequently attacked with vehement desires of returning to partake of the flesh-pots of Egypt; — that she longed for wine which she formerly loved and drank to excess, whereas now she could not even come at a drop of water; — that the lascivious songs she had formerly been accustomed to sing wero often recurring to her mind, and other impure sugges tions disturbing her soul and violently moving her to lust; but that upon perceiving any of these assaults, it was her custom to strike her breast, shed many tears, and remembering the solemn engagement she had made before she came into the wilderness, to place herself in spirit before the image of the blessed Virgin, horn s.ie had desired to be her surety, and ceased not to weep and lament, and to beg of her protectress to drive away from her those wicked thoughts which troubled her poor soul, till after long and earnest prayer, accompanied with floods of tears, and with the bruising of her body with blows, she used to perceive a light to shine round about her, and a heavenly calm restored to her soul. "Thus," continued she, "I had always the eyes of my heart lifted up without ceasing to her that was my surety, beseeching her to stand l>y me in my solitude and penance; and I always experienced the help and assistance of her who brought forth the Author of all purity, and so I passed safely through the many conflicts and dangers of those seventeen years; and from that time till now, the blessed mother of God has never forsaken me, but always, and in all things, has assisted and directed me."

Zosimus hearkened with great attention to all that she said, and taking notice that she had in her relation of her life made use of passages taken out of the psalms and other parts of the scripture, he asked her if she had ever learnt the psalms, or read any part of the holy scripture? She told him she could not read, nor had even so much as ever heard any person read or sing the psalms, or ever seen either man or beast from her coming into the desert till that day. " But," said she, " the Word of God, which is living and effectual, interiorly teaches the understanding of man; wherefore, as you havs now heard all that relates to me, I conjure you by the incarnation of the Eternal Word, to pray for oie, who, as you see, have been so vile a sinner."

When she had finished her narrative, Zosimus cast himself on his kness, and with a loud voice magnified the Lord for the wonders of his goodness and mercy to those who fear and seek him; whilst she, on her part, begged of him, for the sake of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, not to speak of the things sho had related to him to any one living, till God should deliver her out of the prison of the body: and, said she, " about this time twelvemonth, by God's grace, you shall again see me; I beg of you therefore, for our Lord's sake, that when the holy time of Lent shall return next year, you would not come over the Jordan, according to the custom of your monastery, but remain at home during that time (but indeed you shall not be able to go out, if you would) and on the most sacred evening of our Lord's last supper, bring out for me, in a holy vessel worthy of so great a mystery, the divine body and life-giving blood of our Saviour, and wait for me on that side of the river which you inhabit, and I shall come and receive those precious gifts that are the life of the soul, at the very hour in which our Lord imparted that divine supper to his disciples." Having said this, and once more begged the holy father to pray for her, she hastened away into the remoter parts of the wilderness: whilst Zosimus, after casting himself down upon the ground, and kissing the earth upon which she had stood, re turned through the desert the same way he came, and arrived in due time at the monastery.

During the following year he kept all that he had Keen and heard a secret to himself, longing for the re turn of Lent, that, he might be once more blessed with the sight and conversation of one whom he justly Ikeld in the highest veneraticn. But when the holy fast of Lent was come, he was visited with a fever, which as the Saint had foretold, was attended by no other consequence than that of preventing him from going abroad into the desert with the rest of tho brethren; wherefore, on Maunday-Thursday evening in compliance with her desire, he carried out the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in a small pix or chalice, to the bank of the river, and there waited, looking attentively towards the desert, in expectation of what he had so great a desire of seeing, but not without some apprehension, as it was a long time be fore she came, that slio might have been there already, and not finding him had returned back again. Another perplexing thought also occurred to his mind, viz. how in case of her coming, she should be able to pass over the river to him, as there was neither bridge nor boat near that place. Whilst the holy old man was revolvh.£ these difficulties in his mind, he discovered the Saint on the opposite bank of the Jordan, by the light of the moon, which was then at the full, and saw her making the sign of the cross upoc the river, and presently after walking towards him upon the water, as if it had been firm ground, with which sight he was so much astonished, that he was going to cast himself upon his knees, had she not stopped him by crying out — " Father, what are you about? Recollect you are a priest of God, and that you carry with fou the divine mysteries."

Having now passed over the river, she craved hir blessing, and after desiring him to recite the creed and the Lord's prayer, she received the blessed sacrament from his hands; after which, lifting up her hands to heaven, sighing and weeping, she cried out: Now dost thou dismiss thy servant, 0 Lord, according to thy word, in peace j because my eyes have seen thy salvation. Then turning to Zosimus, she begged pardon for the trouble she had given him, and requested ho. would for the present return to the monastery, but on the following Lent he would not fail to come to the place where she had first spoken to him, and that there he should see her again in the manner God should be pleased to ordain. The good old man desired her to eat something, having brought a basket of figs and dates, with some lentiles steeped in water, with him for that purpose. She took a few grains of the lentiles, saying she had no occasion for any more; for that the1 grace of the spirit was sufficient to preserve the soul in its purity. Then begging of him again for God's sake to pray for her, and never to for get her miseries, whilst he, on his part, recommended himself and the whole church to her prayers, she took

SA leave of him, and making the sign of the cross upon the river, crossed it again in the same manner as she came to him, walking upon the waters.

The next year Zosirnus going out in Lent, i<xordiu£ to the custom of the monastery, into the desert, made the best of his way towards the place where hs had first seen the Saint, in hopes of being still more edified by her si^ht and heavenly conversation, and of learning also her name, which he regretted not having in quired after when he last saw her. After a long and painful journey, when he arrived at the dry torrent, he found in the higher part of that concavity the dead body of the Saint extended decently on the ground, with her hands crossed, and her face turned towards the east. Hereupon he fell down at the feet of the holy corpse, which he washed with his tears, and then began to sing the psalms and recite the prayers for the burial of the dead, when behold he perceived on the ground these words written in the sand: " Father Zosimus, bury the body of poor Mary; render to tluj earth what belongs to the earth; and in the name of God pray for me on the ninth day of April, the day cf the passion of our Lord, after the communion of the divine supper." * The old man, reading these words, could not conceive by whom they were wrote, as the¹

Saint bad assured him she could neither read nor write. He was however not only pleased to have found out her name, but also astonished to think how quickly she had been brought back in the space o one night after receiving the holy communion, over as large a tract of ground as had taken him twenty days travelling without ceasing. Hence it appears that after her return her blessed soul had left her body, and taken its flight to heaven.

But now his greatest solicitude was how he should contrive to bury her body, as he had no proper instrument to open the earth, or dig a grave. But he was not long under this perplexity before he perceived a great lion standing by the body of the Saint, and licking her feet. To recover himself from the terror excited by the sight of so tremendous an animal, he made the sign of the cross, trusting that God and her holy body would protect him from all dangers, when behold he found the lion began to fawn upon him, as if he proffered him his service! So that being convinced that God had sent the beast to make a grave lor his servant, he commanded him in the name of <tod to set about that work with his claws. The lion obeyed, and presently made a sufficient grave, in which /osiinus interred the body of the Saint, covering it only with the mantle she had received of him, and with many tears, having recommended both hinisel' and the whole world to her prayers, he departed praising God. whilst the lion, like a, tame lamb, went his way into the remoter parts of the desert. Zosimas, at his return home, related to his brethren the whole history of the life of the Saint from the beginning, to their great edincation, concealing no part of what he had seen or heard. After which he still continued serving and glorifying God in that monastery, till he was a hundred years old, with such perfection as to be enrolled after his death amongst the Saints. Hu name occurs in the Roman Martyrology on the fourth of April, and that of St. Mary of Egypt on the second of the same month.

Footnotes

1. The anniversary of her happy death, viz. the day immediately following that on which Zosimus had, the year before, administered to her tht blessed e acharist. ↩