Saint Mary of Egypt is also known as Maria Aegyptica, and was born in Egypt. At the age of twelve she ran away to the city of Alexandria where she lived an extremely dissolute life, prostituting herself. In her Vita, she states that she often refused the money offered for her sexual favors, as she was driven by an insatiable and irrepressible passion of lust.

After years of this lifestyle, she traveled to Jerusalem for the Great Feasts of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. She decided to do this, not for a religious pilgrimage, but to find even more partners in her lust. She paid for her passage by offering sexual favors to other pilgrims, continuing her habitual lifestyle for a short time in Jerusalem. Everything was like a lark to her, until she couldn’t enter the Church of the Resurrection in order to venerate the Holy Cross.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘹𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 — 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘈𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴. 𝘐 𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘔𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘐 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘥, 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘣𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦. 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦-𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥.”

And there she prayed and offered her repentance. She made the promise:

“𝘉𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦.’’

She then attempted again, to enter the Church and this time she was permitted in.

After venerating the relic of the Holy Cross, she returned to the icon of the most Holy Mother of God to give thanks and heard a voice telling her, “If you cross the Jordan, you will find glorious rest and true peace”. She immediately went to the Monastery of St. John the Baptist on the bank of the River Jordan, where she received Absolution and Holy Communion. The next morning, she crossed the Jordan and retired to the desert to live the rest of her life as a hermit in penitence for her previous sins. She took with her only three loaves of bread, and once they were gone, she lived only on what she could find in the wilderness.

About one year before her death, she recounted her life to a priest, St. Zosimas of Palestine, who encountered her in the desert. She narrated her life’s story to him, her struggles, and victory.

“𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦, 𝘈𝘣𝘣𝘢, 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘐 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 — 𝘮𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵. 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵. 𝘐𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘬𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮, 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘈𝘣𝘣𝘢? 𝘈 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 (𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵) 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥.”

She “struggled with wild beasts, desires and passions.” Obviously, the struggle was engaged through prayer. Her fasting was beyond comprehension. And she describes simply lying on the ground for days at a time, weeping and beating her breast. But then: “a calm and sweet light descended and enlightened me and chased away the thoughts that possessed me.”

But she describes her victory in terms of pure gift: a calm and sweet light. In all things she credits her victory to the help of the Mother of God.

“𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 [𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥] 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦…𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥.”

After recounting her story to him, Mary asked Zosimas to meet her again the following year at sunset on Holy Thursday by the banks of the Jordan. A year later, Zosimas did exactly this, and before he could begin to doubt his experience, Mary

appear on the opposite side of the Jordan and miraculously walked across the water towards him. Mary received communion from him, and instructed him to return to where they first met exactly a year later. When he did so, he found Mary’s body in the desert, incorrupt with a message written on the sand asking him for burial and revealing that she had died immediately after receiving Communion the year before. Amazed, Zosima began to dig and was later joined by a lion who helped him finish digging. After burying St. Mary of Egypt, he returned to the monastery, told everyone of what he had witnessed, and improved the faults of the monks there.

St. Mary of Egypt ran away from home at the age of 12, and moved to Alexandria. She became a prostitute and a beggar, to sustain herself. She went on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and had a conversation after hearing the voice of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She converted her life to Christ, and became a hermit in the desert. She could perform many miracles, and even walked on top of he water of the River Jordan, to receive Holy Communion from St. Zosimas. Her life shows us that with repentance, forgiveness, and a firm purpose of amendment, we too can experience the Divine Mercy of God and sainthood.

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