Santa Margherita Maria Alacoque, Saint of the day for October 16

Saint of the day for October 16th
(22 July 1647 - 17 October 1690)

The history of Santa Margherita Maria Alacoque

Margaret Mary was chosen by Christ to arouse in the Church the realization of the love of God symbolized by the heart of Jesus.

His early years were marked by illness and a painful family situation. "The heaviest of my crosses was that I could do nothing to lighten the cross my mother was suffering." After considering marriage for some time, Margaret Mary entered the Order of the Visitation Sisters at the age of 24.

A sister of the Visitation "was not supposed to be extraordinary if not ordinary", but the young sister was not to enjoy this anonymity. A novice colleague called Margaret Mary humble, simple and straightforward, but above all kind and patient under harsh criticism and correction. He could not meditate in the formal manner expected, even though he did his best to give up his "prayer of simplicity". Slow, silent and clumsy, she was assigned to help a nurse who was a bundle of energy.

On December 21, 1674, a three-year-old nun, received the first of her revelations. She felt "invested" in the presence of God, although she was always afraid to deceive herself in such matters. Christ's request was that her love for humanity be made evident through her.

During the next 13 months, Christ appeared to her at intervals. His human heart was to be the symbol of his divine-human love. With her love Margaret Mary had to compensate for the coldness and ingratitude of the world: with frequent and loving holy communion, especially on the first Friday of each month, and with an hour of prayer vigil every Thursday evening in remembrance of her agony and isolation in Gethsemane. He also called for a reparation party to be set up.

Like all saints, Margaret Mary had to pay for her gift of holiness. Some of her own sisters were hostile. The theologians who were called declared her delusional visions and suggested that she eat more in good taste. Later, the parents of the children she taught called her an imposter, an unorthodox innovator. A new confessor, the Jesuit Claude de la Colombière, recognized her genuineness and supported her. Against her great resistance, Christ called her to be a sacrificial victim for the shortcomings of her own sisters, and to make her known.

After serving as a novice mistress and senior assistant, Margaret Mary died at the age of 43 while being anointed. He said, "I need nothing but God and get lost in the heart of Jesus."

Reflection

Our scientific-materialistic age cannot "prove" private revelations. Theologians, if urged, admit that we must not believe it. But it is impossible to deny the message announced by Margaret Mary: that God loves us with a passionate love. His insistence on reparation and prayer and remembrance of the final judgment should be enough to ward off superstition and superficiality in devotion to the Sacred Heart, while preserving its deep Christian meaning.