St. Anthony Messenger | May 2012 issue of St. Anthony Messenger magazine

Joplin, Missouri: One Year Later
Jeannette Cooperman

A tornado-ravaged city is being resurrected with the help of college students from across the country.

A Few Minutes With the Willitses
Interview by Judy Zarick

Reaching out to the 'digital sheep'

WEB+	The Catholics Next Door: Adventures in Imperfect Living The Catholics Next Door/New Evangelizers web site

A New Look at the Creed
Greg Friedman, OFM

What are we proclaiming at Mass each Sunday?

What's a Parent to Do?
Susan Vogt

Watching your adult child choose a mate and plan a wedding is rife with potential arguments. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

WEB+	Questions for reflection

Adventures in Tithing
Marilynn Judd

Surprising things happen when God is in charge.

The Many Lives of Chris Padgett
Christopher Heffron

Husband, father, convert, musician and youth minister, this Renaissance man is a rising figure in the Catholic world.

WEB+	Chris Padgett on Mary, the Mother of God Chris Padgett's website

to St. Anthony Messenger Print Edition

Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi: Mystical ecstasy is the elevation of the spirit to God in such a way that the person is aware of this union with God while both internal and external senses are detached from the sensible world. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi was so generously given this special gift of God that she is called the "ecstatic saint."
<p>She was born into a noble family in Florence in 1566. The normal course would have been for Catherine de Pazzi to have married wealth and enjoyed comfort, but she chose to follow her own path. At nine she learned to meditate from the family confessor. She made her first Communion at the then-early age of 10 and made a vow of virginity one month later. When 16, she entered the Carmelite convent in Florence because she could receive Communion daily there. </p><p>Catherine had taken the name Mary Magdalene and had been a novice for a year when she became critically ill. Death seemed near so her superiors let her make her profession of vows from a cot in the chapel in a private ceremony. Immediately after, she fell into an ecstasy that lasted about two hours. This was repeated after Communion on the following 40 mornings. These ecstasies were rich experiences of union with God and contained marvelous insights into divine truths. </p><p>As a safeguard against deception and to preserve the revelations, her confessor asked Mary Magdalene to dictate her experiences to sister secretaries. Over the next six years, five large volumes were filled. The first three books record ecstasies from May of 1584 through Pentecost week the following year. This week was a preparation for a severe five-year trial. The fourth book records that trial and the fifth is a collection of letters concerning reform and renewal. Another book, <i>Admonitions</i>, is a collection of her sayings arising from her experiences in the formation of women religious. </p><p>The extraordinary was ordinary for this saint. She read the thoughts of others and predicted future events. During her lifetime, she appeared to several persons in distant places and cured a number of sick people. </p><p>It would be easy to dwell on the ecstasies and pretend that Mary Magdalene only had spiritual highs. This is far from true. It seems that God permitted her this special closeness to prepare her for the five years of desolation that followed when she experienced spiritual dryness. She was plunged into a state of darkness in which she saw nothing but what was horrible in herself and all around her. She had violent temptations and endured great physical suffering. She died in 1607 at 41, and was canonized in 1669.</p>

Why do we surrender ourselves to ego demands? We ask God to break the chains of the false and too careful self and bring light to all our shadows. We long to live life—the life of the gospel—abundantly.

PICKS OF THE WEEK

	Now on audio!
	Learn how to deepen your most important relationship.

	Saint Anthony of Padua
	A heartfelt look at the saint's life, the legends he inspired, and the prayers and devotions to him.

	The Catholics Next Door—new book!
	Greg and Jennifer Willits offer insight for every Catholic stumbling toward a more fruitful relationship with God.

	Now on audio
	These inspiring stories from American Catholic Radio show how people "put shoes on the Gospel."

	New book
	Get help for your prayer life from the saints!

CATHOLIC GREETINGS

	Wedding Anniversary
	Catholic Greetings subscribers can be reminded of important dates to send e-cards like anniversaries.

	Reception into Full Communion
	To rejuvenate your own commitment to the faith, participate in welcoming those who are completing their Christian initiation.

	Graduation
	If you’re not able to attend the graduation in person, send an e-card expressing your affection.

	Birthday
	May God bless you today with joyful surprises as we remember the day He brought you to life.

	Seventh Sunday of Easter
	The Easter season officially ends one week from today, but that’s no reason to stop rejoicing!

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