Who was St. Mary of Egypt?
St. Mary lived in Alexandria, Egypt in the Sixth Century (app. 527-565 A.D.). By nature, St. Mary was a woman who loved the flesh and was infamous for her sinful way of life. In the company of people she had led into sin, she traveled to the Holy City of Jerusalem. Through curiosity, or by the saving hand of God, she attended the celebration of the feast of the Holy Cross at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. At the church, she renounced her sinful life and went to a monastery on the banks of the Jordan River. There, she received communion and entered into the Palestinian desert to live the remainder of her life as a hermit and ascetic for Christ. Living in an age that seems to reject all common morality, we at St. Mary’s find great strength in our patron. more…
