Happy Feast of St. Margaret Mary, October 17th.

[Xavier]

St. Margaret Mary, the Great French Nun, Bride of Christ and apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, was a victim of reparation consumed by love of God's Heart. She had a great devotion to Our Lady, the Mother of God, and to the holy Souls in Purgatory, in favor of whom she made the Heroic Vow - a wonderful practice we should all strive to imitate. Her heart was set aflame by the Love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and became one with that Heart in mystical union with Christ. At her death, the devil came to tempt her saying that, as she had sacrificed everything for God and for others, there was nothing left for herself. But then God appeared, drove the devil away, multiplied all her merits, and took her straight to heaven.

She warned the Kings of France - once a great Catholic Monarchy - to consecrate that country to the Sacred Heart, and thus deserve the protection of Heaven, or a terrible calamity would follow. And what could so easily have been averted by faith, obedience, love and devotion was not done and that calamity fell. The Sacred Heart in every age sends us Saints and saintly souls to show us the way to heaven and the path to peace by doing God's will. Let us imitate St. Margaret Mary in making a perfect oblation of self, consecrating all our actions to Our Lady that She may be Mistress of our entire being, living only for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and working always for the greater glory of God. Happy Feast Day!



Feast: "October 17.—ST. Margaret Mary

Introduction

Saint Margaret Mary was born on July 25th, 1647, at Janots, a small town in Burgundy. She was the fifth of seven children of a prosperous notary.

At the age of four, Margaret made a promise to the Lord. She felt inspired to compose this prayer: "Oh my Lord, I consecrate to you my purity and I make a vow of perpetual chastity ... Being seriously ill upon her return, Margaret sought refuge in the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. She made her a vow that if she would heal her, she would become one of her daughters. Immediately after making this promise, she recuperated her health. Saint Margaret recalled: "As soon as I made this vow I was cured, with a new protection from the most Blessed Virgin, who now became so completely the mistress of my heart that She looked upon me as belonging to her and governed me as being dedicated to her, reproving me for my faults, and teaching me to do the will of my God." ... In the midst of all this, she felt strongly drawn to mental prayer and to the Most Blessed Sacrament. She would express that she knew not how to pray, and the Lord Himself became her teacher. He made her prostrate herself humbly before Him to ask His pardon for everything by which she had offended Him, and, after an act of adoration, she would offer Him her prayer. He presented to her a mystery in which He wanted her to consider Him. Her heart was consumed in the desire of loving Him, which gave her an insatiable longing for Holy Communion and for suffering.

When her mother and other relatives started to talk about marriage, the young Margaret feared going against the vow she had made. She felt a lot of pressure and there were many who sought her in marriage. Her mother, incessantly weeping, told her that her only hope that would put an end to her misery was by marrying her as soon as possible, adding that this would be a great consolation to her. Furthermore, the devil took advantage of the tender affection which she had for her mother, unceasingly representing to her the tears that she shed, suggesting that she would die of grief if she became a nun. On the other hand, the desire to be a nun and the extreme horror which she had of anything against purity haunted her without ceasing.

Finally, the tender love for her mother began to get the upper hand, and she thought that, as she was but a child when she made her vow and did not understand the meaning she thus could easily obtain dispensation from it. She therefore began to frequent society and to adorn herself in order to please others, trying to enjoy herself as much as she could. But during the time she spent in the midst of company and amusement, the Lord continually knocked at the door of her heart. He made her understand that it would be hard to resist the power of His love. She wrote in her diary: "He aimed such burning darts at my heart that they pierced and consumed it on all sides; and the pain I felt in consequence rendered me quite speechless. I felt myself bound, as it were, with cords and dragged with such force that I was at last constrained to follow Him Who called me."

On one occasion Jesus said to her: "I have chosen thee to be My spouse, and we pledged each other fidelity when thou didst make thy vow of chastity. It was I who urged thee to make it, before the world had any share in thy heart, because I wished to have it quite pure... And then I confided thee to the care of my Holy Mother, that she might fashion thee according to My designs."

Finally, the Lord Jesus appeared to her all disfigured, as He appeared after the scourging, and said to her: "Wouldst thou take this pleasure, whereas I never had any and delivered Myself up to every kind of bitterness for love of thee and to win thy heart? Nevertheless, thou wouldst still dispute it with Me." She understood that her vanity had reduced Him to this condition, and that she was wasting precious time, of which He would demand a rigorous account from her at the hour of her death. Along with this extraordinary grace, her desire for religious life was rekindled in her heart with such intensity, that she resolved to embrace it at any cost.

The priest who celebrated at her profession said to her: "Jesus Christ will give you the light. Go forth through the path of the just, as the shining dawn!"

Saint Margaret wrote that same afternoon: "I, pitiful and miserable nothingness, protest to my God that I submit and sacrifice myself to everything He asks of me, immolating my heart for the fulfillment of His good pleasure, without reserving any interest other than His greater glory and His pure love, to which I consecrate and abandon my entire being and my every moment."



Please read for more: http://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/margaret_mary.htm