The Message of Saint Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi for our Post-Conciliar Church

Abstract

We who are living through a post-conciliar era can learn much from the experiences and writings of Saint Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi,   who labored for the renewal of the Church in the years following the Council of Trent. This article explores her hunger for this  renovatione – an Italian word that can be translated both as renovation and renewal. “Renovation” is often used to describe the  physical alteration of a church building, while “renewal” suggests a broader, dynamic process of rejuvenation. We might think of  renovation as a visible expression of renewal. True spiritual renewal will lead to external change, be it in personal conversion or  ecclesial life; on the other hand, exterior change does not necessarily indicate interior renewal. The author considers first a series of  letters the Carmelite nun wrote to leading figures in the Church of her day urging a spiritual renovation in ecclesial life. These  letters had no effect, and in fact most of them probably never left the convent. The second part of the article explores the experiences and doctrine of Saint Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi and how these testify to interior renewal of individuals and the Church  as a whole. De’ Pazzi’s writings center on the great mystery of the kenosis of the Son of God in his Incarnation and Passion, which in  turn reflects the dynamic of self-surrender that marks the very life of the Trinity. Saint Mary Magdalen tasted this kenosis both in  her extraordinary mystical experiences and in the day - to- day life of a cloistered contemplative. She saw her vocation very much in  ecclesial terms, and recognized that true renewal of the Church occurs when we imitate Christ’s generous, self-sacrificial love unto  death for God and our neighbor. To learn the lesson she teaches, we must dig beneath the accounts of her raptures (colorful  though these are!) and encounter the heroic woman who sought self-denial in humble service to others and the endurance of  spiritual and physical sufferings. If Jews  seek signs and Greeks desire wisdom, we today often want “results.” In response to our  desire for external renovation, Saint Mary Magdalen de’Pazzi offers us an example of profound spiritual renewal by a hidden participation in Christ’s paschal mystery.