February 26 — Saint Margaret of Cortona

Amicum te dixit Salvator, suis obtemperantem inandatis, beate apostole, et ipsius regni hseredem, et cum ipso sedentem in throno in futura terribili die, sapientissime Mathia, collegii duodenarii apostolorum comple men turn.

Crucis velamine instructor, vitse sseviens mare trajecisti, beate, et ad requiei portum pervenisti ; et nunc lsetus cum apostolorum choro judicum altissimo adstare digneris, Dominum pro nobis exorans misericordem.

Lampas aureo nitore fulgens, Spiritus sancti ellychnio ardens, lingua tua apparuit, extranea comburens dogmata, extraneum extinguens ignem, o sapiens Mathia, lucem fulgurans sedentibus in tenebris ignorantiae.

O blessed apostle! the Saviour called thee his friend, because thou didst keep his commandments. Thou art heir to his kingdom, and thou art to sit with him, on a throne, at the last terrible day, O most wise Mathias, who didst complete the number of the apostolic college.

Guided by the sail of the cross, thou, O blessed one, didst pass over the troubled sea of life, and didst reach the haven of rest. Do thou now vouchsafe to join the glad choir of the apostles, and beseech the infinite Judge, that he would show himself a merciful Lord unto us.

Thy tongue was a bright lamp of glittering gold, burning with the flame of the Holy Ghost. Thou didst consume all strange doctrines, thou didst quench all fire that was profane, and to them that sat in the darkness of ignorance, thou, O wise Mathias, didst show a brilliant light.

February 26

SAINT. MAEGAEET OP COETONA, PENITENT

Close to the faithful virgins, who form the court of Jesus, there stand those holy women, whose repentance has merited for them a prominent place in the calendar of the Church. They are the bright trophies of God's mercy. . They expiated their sins by a life of penance ; the tears of their compunction

SEPTUAGrESIMA wiped away their guilt ; He that is purity itself has found them worthy of His love, and, when pharisees affect to be shocked at His allowing them to be near Him, He warmly defends them. Foremost among these is Mary Magdalene, to whom much was forgiven, because she loved much ; x but there are two on the list of penitent saints whose names shine most brightly on the calendar of this portion of the year ; and who were, like Mary Magdalene, ardent in their love of the divine Master, whom they had once offended: these are, Mary of Egypt, and Margaret of Cortona. It is the second of these who to-day tells us the consoling truth that if sin separate us from God, penance has the power not only of disarming His anger, but of forming between God and the sinner that ineffable bond of love, which the apostle alludes to when he says : 'Where sin hath abounded, grace hath more abounded.' 2

Let us study the virtues of the illustrious penitent of the thirteenth century. They are thus summed up by the Church in the lessons of to-day's feast.

Margarita, a loco dormiti- Margaret of Cortona (so onis Cortonensis appellata, called from the town where

Laviani in Tuscia ortum she died), was born at Alviano habuit. Primis adolescentise in Tuscany. In her early suae annis mundi volupta- youth she was a slave to the tibus capta, in Montis Poli- pleasures of this world, and tiani civitate, vanam et led a vain and sinful life in lubricam vitam duxit : sed the city of Montepulciano. cum amasium ab hostibus Her attention was, one day, foede transfossum, indicio attracted by a dog, which canis in fovea sub strue li- seemed to wish her to follow gnorum tumulatum fortuito it. She did so, and it led her to reperisset, illico facta est a pile of wood which covered manus Domini super earn, a large hole. Looking in, quae magno culparum su- she saw the body of her lover, arum mcerore tacta, exiit whose enemies had murdered foras et flevit amare. Itaque him, and thrown his mangled i St. Luke vii. 47. 2 Rom. v. 20.

Lavianum reversa, crine detonso, neglecto capite, pullaque veste contecta, erroribus suis mundique illecebris nuntium misit ; inque sedibus Deo sacris fune ad collum alligato, humi procumbens, ab omnibus quos antea inoribus suis palam offenderat, veniam exoravit. Mox Cortonam profecta, in cinere et cilicio ab se lsesam Dei majestatem placare studuit, donee post triennale virtutum experimentum a Fratribus Minoribus spiritualis vitae ducibus, Tertii Ordinis habitum impetravit. Uberes exinde lacrymse ei familiares fuerunt, atque ima suspiria tanta animi contritione ducta, ut diu elinguis consisteret. Lectulus nuda humus, cervical lapis aut lignum porrexit ; atque ita noctes insomnes in ccelestium meditatione trahere consuevit, nullum amplius pravum desiderium perpessa, dum bonus spiritus promptior infirmam carnem ad subeundos labores erigebat. corpse into that place. She suddenly felt that the hand of God was upon her, and being overwhelmed with intense sorrow for her sins, she went forth, and wept bitterly. She returned to Alviano, cut off her hair, laid aside her trinkets, and, putting on a dark-coloured dress, she abandoned her evil ways and the pleasures of the world. She was to be found in the churches, with a rope tied round her neck, prostrate on the ground, and imploring pardon of all whom she had scandalized by her past life. She shortly afterwards set out for Cortona, and there, in sackcloth and ashes, she sought how she might appease the divine anger. For three years did she try herself in the practice of every virtue : and at the end of that time, she obtained permission from the Friars Minors (under whose spiritual guidance she had placed herself), to receive the habit of the Third Order. From that time forward, her tears were almost incessant; and the sighs which deep contrition wrung from her heart were such as to leave her speechless for hours. Her bed was the naked ground ; and her pillow, a stone or piece of wood : so that she frequently passed whole nights in heavenly contemplation. Evil desires no longer tormented her, for her fervent spirit was so prompt, that the weak flesh was made to labour and obey.

SEPTUAGESIMA

A daemone insidiis, funestisque conatibus lacessita, inulier fortis hostem, ex verbis detectum, semel atque iterum invicta repulit. Ad eludendum vanae gloriae lenocinium, quo a malo spiritu petebatur, praeteritos mores suos per vicos et plateas alta voce accusare non destitit, omni supplicio se ream inclamans ; nec, nisi a confessario deterrita, in speciosam faciem, olim impuri amoris causam, saevire abstinuit, aegre ferens suam formam longa carnis maceratione non aboleri. Quibus aliisque magnae pcenitentiae arguments, suorum criminum labe expiata, atque ita de se triumphatrix, ut sensus plane omnes a mundi illecebris custodiret, digna facta est quae saepe Domini consuetudine frueretur. Ejusdem quoque Christi et Virginis Matris dolorum, quod ipsa ardenter expetierat, particeps facta, cunctis sensibus destituta, et vere mortua interdum visa est. Ad earn proinde veluti ad perfectionis magistram, ex dissitis etiam regionibus plurimi conveniebant : ipsa vero ccelesti, quo erat perfusa, lumine, cordium secreta, conscientias hominum, imo et peccata in remotis licet partibus Deum offendentium cum dolore et lacrymis detegens, summaque in Deum et proximum charitate fervens, ingentem animarum fructum operata

The devil spared neither snares nor violent assaults, whereby to lead ber from her holy purpose : but she, like a strong woman, detected him by his words, and drove him from her. This wicked spirit having tempted her to vain glory, she went into the streets, and cried out with a loud voice, that she had been a great sinner, and deserved the worst of punishments. It was obedience to her confessor that alone prevented her from disfiguring her features, which had been the cause of much sin : for the long and severe penance she had imposed on herself had not impaired her beauty. By these and such like exercises of a mortified life, she cleansed her soul from the stains of her sins, and gained such a victory over herself, that the allurements of the world had not the slightest effect upon her, and our Lord rewarded her by frequently visiting her. She also received the grace she so ardently desired, of being allowed to have a share in the sufferings of Jesus and Mary ; so much so, indeed, that, at times, she lay perfectly unconscious, as though she were .really dead. All this made her be looked up to as a guide in the path of perfection, and persons would come to her, even from distant countries, in order to seek her counsel. By the heavenly light granted her, she could read the hearts and consciences of others, and could see the sins committed est. iEgris ad se venientibus salutem, obsessis a dsemone liberationem impetravit. Puerum defunctuin, lugente matre, ad vitam reduxit. Imminentes bellorum tumultus assiduis orationibus sedavit. Denique Bummse pietatis operibus vivos et mortuos sibi demeruit.

Tot Sanctis operibus occupata, de rigore, quo assidue corpus suum exercebat, nihil remisit, neque a studio coslestia meditandi se avelH passa est, in utroque vitae genere plane admiranda, utramque sororem, Magdalenam et Martham, referens. Tandem pro se Dominum orans, ut ex hac valle lacryinaruin sursum in cuelestem patriam evocaretur, exaudita est oratio ejus, die atque hora dormitionis ei patefactis. Meritis itaque et laborious plena, ac coelestibus donis cumulata, coepit corporis viribus destitui, perque dies decern et septem nullo cibo, sed divinis tantum colloquiis refecta est : turn sanctissimis Ecclesise sacramentis rite susceptis, vultu hilari, atque oculis in ccelum conversis, octavo Ka- against our Lord in various parts of the world, for which she would offer up, in atonement, her own sorrow and tears. Great indeed was the good she effected by the ardent charity she bore to God and her neighbour. She healed the sick who came to her, and drove out the devil from such as were possessed. A mother besought her, with many tears, to restore her child to life, which she did. Her prayers more than once averted war, when on the point of being declared. In a word, both the living and the dead experienced the effects of her unbounded charity.

While engaged in these manifold holy works, she relented not in the severity of her bodily mortifications, or in her contemplation of heavenly things. The two lives of Mary and Martha were admirably blended together in her ; and rich in the merits of each, she besought our Lord to take her from this vale of tears, and give her to enter the heavenly country. Her prayer was heard, and the day and the hour of her death were revealed to her. Laden with meritorious works and divine favours, her bodily strength began to fail. For the last seventeen days of her life her only food was that of conversation with her Creator. At length, after receiving the inost holy Sacraments of the Church, with a face beaming with joy, and her eyes raised

SEPTUAGBSIMA lendas Martias, anno aetatis quinquagesimo, suae conversionis vigesimo tertio, humanae vero salutis millesimo ducentesimo nonagesimo septimo, felix migravit ad Sponsum. Corpus in hanc usque diem vegetum, incorruptum, illsesum et suaviter olens, summa religione colitur in ecclesia fratrum Minorum, quae jam ab eadem Margarita appellatur. Miraculis continuo floruit ; quibus permoti Bomani Pontifices, ad augendum ejus cultum plurima liberaliter indulserunt. Benedictus vero decimus tertius, in festo Pentecostes, die sexta decima Maii anni millesimi septingentesimi vigesimi octavi, solemnem ejus canonizationem religiosissime celebravit. up to heaven, her happy soul fled to its divine Spouse, on the eighth of the Calends of March (February 22), in the fiftieth year of her age, the twenty-third of her conversion, and in the year of our Lord one thousand two hundred and ninety- seven. Her body, which, even to this day, is fresh, incorrupt, and unaltered, and sheds a sweet fragrance, is devoutly honoured in the church (called after her Saint Margaret' 8) belonging to the Friars Minors. The many miracles which have been wrought at her shrine, have induced the Sovereign Pontiffs to promote devotion to Saint Margaret by the grant of many spiritual favours. She was canonized, with great solemnity, by Pope Benedict XIII., on May 16, which was the feast of Pentecost, in the year 1728.

If the angels of God rejoiced on. the day of thy conversion, when Margaret the sinner became the heroic and saintly penitent, what a grand feast must they have kept when thy soul left this world, and they led thee to the eternal nuptials with the Lamb ! Thou art one of the brightest trophies of divine mercy, and when we think of the saint of Cortona, our hearts glow with hope. We are sinners ; we have deserved hell ; and yet, when we hear thy name, heaven and mercy seem so near to us, yea, even to us. Margaret of Cortona ! see how like we are to thee in thy weakness, and thy wanderings from the fold; but thou forcest us to hope that we may, like - thee, be converted, do penance, and reach heaven at last. The instrument