"Spouses of Christ" Servidoras I (II edición), p. 193 cont...

Beginning of the homily

We will only look at three points:

1. We must understand the greatness of such a high occupation

Yes, religious are Spouses of Christ, as Christ Himself proudly calls them, because it is so, he is their Spouse. That Christ Himself would call a specific person to be his Spouse is such a great and excellent grace, that as much as she thinks she understands it, she still is very lacking in her knowledge of its true greatness.

Before the religious was born, before she was begotten, long before the world was created – from all eternity God had written on his bosom all those he predestined to be his Spouses. Their fasts, disciplines, and prayers did not merit this, since at this time they did not exist, rather God alone, who chose them and called them from among millions of people to be his Spouses, could have merited this. He separated them from the world and liberated them from the occupations of marriage so that all of their time would be spent loving the Sweet Spouse.

(Cont...)

"Spouses of Christ" Servidoras I (II edición), p. 193

I believe that neither a more beautiful nor a more accurate expression can be found to define a religious than to call her a spouse, “Spouse of Christ.” Now I want to put in writing a sermon that I have often preached, which is loosely taken from a classic sermon given by John of Avila in Montilla, in the monastery of Saint Clare.

The honor of the espoused is the honor proper to her spouse, because what affects the espoused also affects her spouse as if it were her own. And so, anything that shames, affronts, wrongs, offends or reviles her is all done to her spouse as well, and anyone who does a favor for the espoused so honors her spouse as if it were done for him instead.

In other words, he who works against a religious works against Christ Himself; whether he hinder their living the religious life, slander them, try to meddle in their community life, work to separate them from their Spouse, which makes him like those who are in favor of divorce, doing the work of the devil. Sometimes, when God permits these actions: they only do the work of carrion crows weeding out false religious who, as if they were masquerading, have only the exterior dress – those who are not Spouses, but widows of Christ. “Widows more than married; not a spouse, but an adulteress to Christ,” says St. Cyprian.

On the contrary, he who helps religious sisters spiritually or materially helps Christ. And “whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink – amen, I say to you he will surely not lose his reward” (Mt 10:42). All that we can do for religious, the Divine Spouse will receive it as though it were done for his service.

(Cont...)

Mary Magdalene in St. Baume - Beautiful plan of life

Beginning of the homily

The mute rock of this altar will always remind you of this school of triple love and it should inflame you to allow yourselves to be taught by her who merited to be beside Mary at the foot of the cross.

May it always be a sign of distinction to excel in the love that separates, in the love that crucifies, in the love that glorifies!

The Virgen will never cease to help you as Mother and Teacher to live in the love of Jesus.

Mary Magdalene in St. Baume - School of three types of love for Jesus

Beginning of the homily

Oh happy soul to live so, to die so, to suffer so in this desert! Oh happy exile of having and possessing for so long a time such a soul! This desert is a school of love. And for Magdalene a school of many kinds of love.

1. Among them, I distinguish a love that separates since Jesus is in heaven, Magdalen on earth.
2. I distinguish a love that crucifies since Jesus is united to her as crucified. And what is more, He unites to her as one who crucifies. Proper to the love and spirit of Jesus Crucified is to crucify in this way His most beloved souls. And Magdalene receives Him in this twofold quality as crucified and one who crucifies. And she embraces Him with all the strength of her soul as if He were more loving that the Spouse in the Song of Songs when with the slightest reason delays in receiving the beloved.
3. Yet still, I distinguish in this desert a third type of love, an incomparable love, a love that exceeds and crowns all antecedent loves, a love that ends her desert and her love. It is a love enraptured by the contemplation of Jesus but not crucified but glorified. A love that consumes, that raptures, that draws from the desert to heaven and from the cross to glory. Oh soul! Oh desert! Oh life! Oh cross! Oh love! Oh glory!

(Part 7...)

Mary Magdalene in St. Baume - A new love crucifies Magdalena, honoring and loving Jesus crucified

Beginning of the homily

Magdalene, chosen among the chosen, excellent among the most excellent, had an eminent and most important part in this type of love. This is your love and in this type of love is your soul principally exercised. This is your life oh Magdalene in this desert. Since Jesus is your love and He is crucified, your love is crucified and you are also crucified. Jesus who is your love is like a divine seal that is applied to you and that is impressed on you but not glorified but crucified. He imprints His wound that even now He maintains in heaven. It is true that these wounds are now glorious but they were at another time painful. They continue being life and the principle of life in Jesus since those wounds which made Him die on the cross, make Him live in heaven. By an admirable secret, they are a cause of life as they were before the cause of His death. Mortal and immortal wounds of Jesus, according to His different states. Living wounds and cause of joy in heaven for the blessed souls but bloody and cause of pain on earth for souls that participate in them. In this way, these wounds that give happiness to Jesus in heaven cause Magdalene pain on earth since He imprints them not as glorious but painful wounds. And he imprints Himself in you oh holy and suffering soul to draw you to a greater suffering. In you, He imprints Himself as suffering and full of pain such as His prophet depicts Him when he calls Him Man of Sorrows (Is 53:3). And He makes you take part of the interior, spiritual, and divine cross that His divine soul carried on the cross for your salvation and the glory of His Father.

Remember oh Magdalene that you were at the foot of the cross! There everything was cross in Jesus: His soul, His body, His dignity, everything was cross and was marked by the cross. They had proclaimed Him king and as such He was crowned but with a crown of thorns. His title and His person were tied to the cross. That is why His mandates are mandates of the cross. On the cross as King and King of your soul (since His title said He was King of the Jews), as king of your soul according to the title of the cross and for your love, He was on His throne, you at His feet.  From there He gave a command to your soul, a command of crucifixion but of a precious crucifixion sublime and singular that not all Jews can execute, that the angels reverence and admire and that is so holy and so divine that in its time it was fulfilled in Himself. Since it is He himself that commanded it, you now fulfill that holy mandate in this desert. And Jesus Christ acts in you proportionally as the Father acted in Him on the cross. He communicates to you a part of His painful feelings and holy imprints that in another time were imprinted in Him by the Spirit of the Father.

The eternal Father worked visible miracles in the corporal nature in the heavens and on the earth, in the sun and in the moon, in tearing the veil of the temple and in breaking the stones. Miracles of pain but in the inanimate nature, miracles to honor the corporal pain and the external sufferings of His son. But He worked other interior miracles, visible miracles of pain for the angels, invisible for men, miracles to honor the interior pains and the secret and divine sufferings of the soul of His Son. These miracles were the state and the exercise of the soul of the Virgen and yours at the foot of the cross seeing your love and your life suffer and die. But that was no more than to taste the chalice. To drink of it to the last was reserved for another time. And this time is for your spirit the time of this desert and in this holy solitude. This is one of the principle states and exercise that Jesus grants your soul so that in eternity you may take part in Jesus glorified in as much as you have taken part on earth in Jesus crucified.

(Part 6...)