Chapter 47: For the Feast of St. Mary Magdalen

Of true penance and good-will.

AT the first Vespers of the Feast of St. Mary Magdalen, this blessed lover of Jesus appeared to Gertrude, adorned with as many precious stones and rare flowers as she had formerly committed sins. The Saint understood that the flowers signified the sovereign goodness of God in pardoning her sins ; and the precious stones, the penance by which the Divine grace had enabled her to expiate them.

At Matins, St. Gertrude besought this Saint to intercede for her and for all who were committed to her care. Then St. Mary Magdalen cast herself at the Feet of our Lord and kissed them tenderly, raising them gently from the ground, as if to invite all penitents to approach them. Gertrude then approached, and kissing them devoutly, said to Him : " I offer Thee now, 0 most loving Lord, the sorrows of all those who are under my care, and with them I water Thy blessed Feet with my tears." Our Lord replied : " I accept your offering for them, and tell them that they should wipe My Feet with their hair, kiss them, and pour perfumes upon them."

From this she understood three things : first, that they wiped our Lord's Feet with their hair, if they now endea voured to expose themselves to every kind of adversity, to efface any faults which they might have committed for merly by not bearing their sufferings patiently ; secondly, that they kissed His Feet who confided fully in the good ness of God, who easily forgives all the sins for which we are truly penitent : thirdly, that we anoint them when we avoid carefully all that is displeasing to God.

Our Lord then said to her : " Pour forth this ointment on Me with the same devotion as Magdalen opened tbe alabaster box, and poured it upon My Head, so that the odour perfumed the whole house. And know, that if you defend the truth, you will act thus ; those who love and defend the truth, and for its sake lose friends or any other advantage, pour forth on My Head a box of precious oinb inent, the perfume of which fills My house ; for he whc corrects others, by giving good example, emits a sweet odour. And if he fails in any way in the manner of

430 TffE REVELATIONS OF ST. GKRTHUDE.

correcting or reprehending, either by negligence or by roughness, I will excuse him before God My Father and the whole court of heaven, even as I excused Magdalen."

To this Gertrude replied : " 0 Lord, since it is re lated of this loving penitent that she bought this ointment, can I not render Thee a similar service ? " He answered : " Whosoever desires that My glory may be promoted in all things, in preference to his own advantage or convenience, purchases a most precious ointment for Me ; although it may often happen that his good-will cannot be carried into effect."