SAINTE MARIE D'OIGNIES
Recluse
(1213)
Sainte Marie d'Oignies naquit à Nivelle, en Belgique. Mariée malgré elle, ses exemples convertirent son mari, qui vécut avec elle dans la continence et distribua ses richesses aux pauvres pour se consacrer entièrement aux oeuvres de la piété. Elle fut comblée des grâces les plus extraordinaires, récompense de ses jeûnes prolongés et de ses prières continuelles. Elle reçut particulièrement le don des larmes dans la méditation de la Passion de Jésus-Christ, la connaissance de l'état des consciences, les visions et les extases. Les cinquante-trois derniers jours de sa vie, elle ne prit point d'autre nourriture que l'Eucharistie.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950.
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/sainte_marie_d_oignies.html
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/sainte_marie_d_oignies.html
MARIE D'OIGNIES ou de NIVELLES,
Marie est née à Nivelles en 1177: ses parents l'ont mariée à l' âge de 14 ans. Les jeunes époux ont vécu en ascètes à Willambroux soignant les pauvres et les lépreux.
Le 9 mai 1207, elle entre au béguinage du Prieuré Saint Nicolas à Oignies où elle se livre à des mortifications dans le sommeil et la nourriture. - Elle était sujette à des visions et passait pour douée de préscience. Elle est morte à Oignies, le 23 juin 1213, à l'âge de 36 ans.
Elle a été rapidement vénérée comme sainte par des gens qui ont, très vite, construit une chapelle en son honneur.
Marie n'a pas été officiellement canonisée mais son Office a été approuvé par le Pape Grégoire XVI à la demande de Son Eminence le Cardinal Sterckx et se célèbre dans les diocèses belges de Tournai et Namur le 23 juin.
A Aiseau, dans la Paroisse sainte Marie d'Oignies, une procession est organisée en son honneur le dimanche suivant sa fête.
Bienheureuse Marie d'Oignies
Recluse (+ 1213)
Marie's relics were placed in a silver shrine behind the altar at Oignies, a monastery of canons regular in the diocese of Namur. He vita was written by Cardinal James of Vitry, once a canon regular in that monastery, afterwards bishop of Acon in Palestine, and later of Tusculum. Her name is inserted in the calendars of several churches in Flanders, in some of which she has been honored with an office (Benedictines, Harrison, Martindale).
In art, Blessed Marie is pictured as a recluse visited by an angel. She may sometimes be shown (1) with an angel by her side; (2) spinning or praying in her cell; (3) interceding for the souls in purgatory; or (4) as the Virgin spreads her mantle over her to protect her from rain (Roeder).
Maria nacque nel 1177 a Nivelles, nel Brabante, antico ducato compreso oggi nello stato del Belgio. Apparteneva ad una famiglia benestante, era molto religiosa e appena raggiunse i quattordici anni, per distoglierla dal pensiero di farsi monaca, i genitori combinarono il matrimonio con un pio giovane di nome Giovanni. Dopo alcuni anni di felice unione matrimoniale, tra lo sconcerto dei parenti, i due bravi coniugi decisero, di comune accordo, di dare i propri beni ai poveri per ritirarsi in un lebbrosario, a Willambroux, per servire i malati. Si formò una piccola comunità la cui fama si diffuse presto, soprattutto grazie a Maria, cui molti fedeli chiedevano preghiere e consigli. Raggiunti i trent’anni, la santa, col consenso del marito e del cognato sacerdote, suo confessore, decise di ritirarsi nel monastero agostiniano di Oignies. Visse in una cella accanto al coro della chiesa facendo la sacrestana. Nel 1207 conobbe Giacomo di Vitry, un canonico di Parigi. La donna gli chiese di stabilirsi in città e di dedicarsi alla predicazione. Erano tempi complessi, la cristianità era lacerata dalle lotte contro le eresie dei catari e degli albigesi. Maria, sebbene vivesse quasi in clausura, seguiva con trepidazione questi avvenimenti. Giacomo ne divenne il direttore spirituale e trasmetteva ai numerosi devoti i suoi insegnamenti. Maria e Giacomo, penitente e confessore, erano guide uno dell’altra. La santa trascorreva molte ore, anche notturne, davanti all’Eucaristia. Un giorno ebbe la premonizione che sarebbe stata istituita la festa del Corpus Domini. Così avvenne nel 1246, nella vicina Liegi, grazie a s. Giuliana di Cornillon che ebbe legami con le "beghine" e si fece monaca proprio nel 1207.
Nel 1212 Maria di Oignies conobbe s. Folco, vescovo di Tolosa, quando gli albigesi lo cacciarono dalla sua diocesi. Il santo si rifugiò a Liegi e rimase impressionato dalla santità di vita delle beghine. In quell’anno Maria ebbe le stimmate. L’anno successivo, dopo numerose e speciali grazie, morì, all’età di circa trentasei anni. Sul letto di morte predisse che sarebbe sorto un ordine di predicatori che, per il bene della Chiesa, avrebbe contrastato le eresie. Folco di Tolosa, insieme a s. Domenico, lottò contro i catari e assistette alla fondazione dei primi monasteri domenicani.
Nel 1216, su richiesta di Folco, Giacomo scrisse la vita di Maria con un lungo prologo in cui illustrava le vicende della nascita del movimento religioso. Per ottenere l’approvazione delle beghine e dei begardi, la corrispondente comunità maschile, andò a Perugia, sede temporanea del papato. Giacomo era un predicatore illustre, teologo e storico; divenne in seguito vescovo di S. Giovanni d’Acri, in Palestina. Nel 1228 fu nominato vescovo di Frascati e poi cardinale. Si prodigò molto perché venisse conosciuta la vita della sua penitente e la santità delle beghine. Diede il suo scritto anche all’amico cardinale Ugolino, futuro papa Gregorio IX. Nel 1230-31 Tommaso Cantimprè aggiunse all’opera un supplemento.Maria si consacrò con gioia al Signore rinunciando alla vita benestante, guardando a Colui che si era incarnato per salvare l’umanità. Maria, ancella di Cristo al servizio della Chiesa, esercitò un apostolato di preghiera e penitenza per la salvezza delle anime. Nella sua vicenda interiore sono riconoscibili i sette doni dello Spirito Santo. Il timor di Dio la spingeva alla povertà e all’umiltà. Grazie al dono della pietà curava i malati nel fisico, ma era pure madre spirituale delle loro anime. Il dono della scienza le conferiva la cautela, la fortezza le ispirò l’armonia del comportamento, il dono del consiglio le dava uno straordinario equilibrio. L’intelletto la fece un’anima contemplativa. Maria fu gratificata da visioni straordinarie, ma grazie al dono della sapienza rimase umile di cuore. Gustava la soavità della liturgia, soprattutto nelle solennità, e aveva una speciale devozione per l’evangelista Giovanni. Le beghine, non avendo regole che ne definissero le caratteristiche, ebbero un appoggio informale dalla Santa Sede. Le caratteristiche inusuali del movimento, nei periodi storici più difficili e confusi, causarono accuse di eresie. Ancora oggi in Belgio e Olanda esistono alcune comunità eredi del loro carisma.
Autore: Daniele Bolognini
Marie appartenait à une famille aisée de Nivelles en Belgique. Elle ressent très jeune l'appel à une vie consacrée, mais ses parents la marient à 14 ans. A cette époque, c'était difficile d'en discuter. Pour son bonheur, son époux, Jean, partage sa soif d'absolu. Tous deux vivront comme frère et sœur. Ce n'est pas suffisant: ils distribuent leurs richesses et se dévouent auprès des lépreux. Ce n'est pas encore assez: Jean et Marie se séparent, à grand chagrin sans doute mais pour eux c'est la volonté de Dieu. Ils mèneront chacun de leur côté la vie contemplative et apostolique.
Marie se retire dans un ermitage du prieuré Saint Nicolas d'Oignies, près de Namur. Des disciples se rassemblent autour d'elle. Parmi eux, Jacques de Viry, son futur biographe, qui deviendra un ardent prédicateur et l'évêque de Saint Jean d'Acre. Tout en pratiquant une ascèse digne des Pères du Désert, elle éprouve des extases mystiques et des visions évangéliques. Marie sert ses compagnons et continue de soigner les lépreux.
Elle fait partie de ces béguines, nombreuses dans le Nord, mais aussi en Provence, en Catalogne, en Sicile, qui vivent dans le monde, y menant une vie de consacrées.
À Oignies, dans le Hainaut belge, l’an 1213, la bienheureusse Marie. Dotée de dons mystiques, elle vécut, avec le consentement de son époux, en recluse dans une cellule, et fut ainsi à l’origine et à l’organisation du mouvement des béguines.
Martyrologe romain
Au diocèse de Liège on célèbre la fête de sainte Marie d'Oignies, femme d'une vertu et d'une sainteté admirables. Elle était native de Nivelle, issue de parents qui n'étaient pas fort relevés dans le monde, bien que riches. Dès sa jeunesse, elle eut un tel dégoût des plaisirs où s'adonnent ordinairement les personnes qui se voient hors de la nécessité, qu'elle ne se souciait ni des parures naturelles aux filles, ni de la douceur des compagnies. Rien ne lui plaisait tant que la solitude, où elle s'adonnait entièrement à la méditation des choses divines. Mais ses parents l'incommodaient grandement, et la détournaient souvent de ses meilleurs desseins par leurs moqueries.
Il arriva donc, quand elle eut atteint l'âge de quatorze ans, qu'ils la marièrent avec un certain jeune homme d'assez bonne maison, qui avait aussi beaucoup de fortune et qui s'appelait Jean.
Ce ne fut pas là une petite affliction à cette bonne fille, car elle eût très volontiers consacré sa virginité à son divin Époux : mais elle estima que Dieu n'agréerait pas moins son obéissance à ses parents que le sacrifice qu'elle lui eût pu faire. Elle prit alors la ferme résolution de ne lui pas rendre moins de service dans le mariage que dans le célibat. D'ailleurs, elle se consolait dans l'espérance qu'elle avait d'une plus grande liberté à servir Dieu, jugeant qu'il lui serait assez facile de gagner les affections de son mari et de les rendre conformes aux siennes, et qu'ainsi elle continuerait ses dévotions.
Les effets ne démentirent point ses espérances et ses desseins : car elle s'acquit un tel pouvoir sur l'esprit de son mari, qu'elle vaquait à ses dévotions avec beaucoup plus de ferveur qu'auparavant. Son ordinaire était que, ne se contentant pas de ses pieux exercices du jour, après avoir passé une partie de la nuit à quelque travail de ses mains, elle se mettait en prières, puis se jetait sur quelques ais qui étaient au pied de son lit pour se reposer un peu. Ainsi elle fit tant que son mari, qui l'avait auparavant tenue pour femme, la tint toujours depuis, ainsi qu'un autre Joseph, par un instinct divin, pour une vraie Marie, particulièrement recommandée du Ciel. Enfin il consentit au saint désir qu'elle avait de demeurer chaste et de quitter tout pour Jésus-Christ, si bien qu'après avoir donné leurs biens aux pauvres, ils se mirent tous deux ensemble à servir les lépreux dans Villembrock, à Nivelle.
Il faisait beau voir ainsi ces jeunes gens dans la pratique des vertus; il n'y avait que les diables et les mondains à qui cela faisait mal au cœur. Les diables, par une envie enragée, suscitaient les mondains contre eux; il n'y avait personne qui ne les regardât et n'eu parlât avec autant de mépris qu'il les avait auparavant honorés : enfin ils se voyaient abandonnés et comme l'objet du mépris de tous leurs parents et amis. Mais tout cela ne refroidit pas l'affection de la servante de Jésus-Christ à lui rendre service, s'estimant trop honorée de l'imiter et de le suivre dans les mépris de la croix. Plus elle se voyait rebutée du monde, plus grande était sa ferveur à se recueillir avec son divin Époux Jésus-Christ, convertissant le repos qu'elle devait prendre la nuit en prières et en oraisons, macérant sa chair par des jeûnes et de grandes abstinences, se revêtant de chétifs habits, et fréquentant continuellement les églises et les lieux de dévotion.
On remarque que dans ses grandes mortifications elle s'acquit le don des larmes en tel degré que ses yeux paraissaient comme des sources, d'où découlaient continuellement deux ruisseaux de larmes nuit et jour, et avec une telle abondance, qu'à peine pouvait-elle se fournir de mouchoirs pour les recueillir et s'essuyer, ne voulant pas que ses larmes parussent sur ses joues, ou qu'elles y laissassent des traces. Un jour, un prêtre l'invitant de s'abstenir de pleurer de la sorte, il arriva qu'il versa lui-même, par les prières de la bienheureuse Marie, une telle abondance de larmes en célébrant la messe, qu'il en arrosa les nappes de l'autel.
Elle se rendit admirable en ses abstinences et en ses jeûnes continuels : car elle ne buvait jamais de vin et ne mangeait point de viande : tout son vivre était quelques fruits, des herbes et des légumes : que si elle mangeait du poisson, c'était fort rarement, et si peu que cela ne mérite presque pas d'être mis en ligne de compte. De plus elle mangeait du gros pain noir, et qui était si rude qu'il lui écorchait la gorge, de sorte que souvent le sang en sortait. Elle ne faisait ordinairement qu'un repas par jour, en été sur le soir, et en hiver à une heure de nuit, s'y disposant comme si elle prenait quelque médecine. Depuis la fête de l'Exaltation de la sainte Croix jusqu'à Pâques, elle jeûna continuellement au pain et à l'eau l'espace de trois ans, sans toutefois en recevoir aucune diminution de ses forces, et sans discontinuer en quelque façon son travail ordinaire, paraissant aussi fraîche de visage que si elle n'eût point jeûné.
Aussi les rigueurs de ses abstinences étaient-elles compensées par des consolations célestes; car souvent les anges, lui apparaissant, la consolaient de divins discours. Son ange gardien l'assistait et l'accompagnait familièrement presque tous les jours, aux avis duquel elle obéissait ponctuellement, comme un religieux à son abbé. Elle passait même quelquefois trente-cinq jours entiers sans boire ni manger, demeurant en un perpétuel silence. Il se trouve aussi que saint Jean l'Évangéliste se présentait quelquefois à elle à table et la repaissait de viandes célestes.
Au reste, elle avait accoutumé de faire tous les ans un voyage par dévotion à Notre-Dame d'Oignies ; et bien qu'elle en fût éloignée d'une demi-lieue d'Allemagne, elle le faisait pieds nus, quelque rigueur de froid qu'il fit, et à jeun : que s'il pleuvait, elle n'en était en aucune façon incommodée. Aussi tient-on qu'elle avait cette grâce particulière d'être assistée pendant tout ce chemin- là de deux anges, l'un au côté droit et l'autre à gauche, qui ne l'abandonnaient point et la conservaient contre les injures de la chaleur, de la froidure ou de la pluie.
Elle reçut de grandes faveurs de Notre-Seigneur par l'intercession de Notre-Dame, à qui elle avait une singulière dévotion. Entre les autres elle avait un don particulier de donner une grande consolation et soulagement à ceux qui s'adressaient à elle, quelque affliction qu'ils eussent. Les diables même ne fuyaient rien tant que sa présence, étant contraints de lui obéir en tout.
La bienheureuse Marie d'Oignies, après avoir ainsi employé sa vie au service des pauvres lépreux, au faubourg de Villembrock à Nivelle, se voyant continuellement entourée d'un grand nombre de personnes qui venaient lui demander secours en leurs afflictions, et ne pouvant plus supporter tant de fatigues, s'enfuit et se retira à Oignies, où elle passa le reste de ses jours en grande sainteté de vie. Dieu l'honora de plusieurs actions miraculeuses. Elle eut une connaissance certaine du temps de sa mort, six ans avant qu'elle arrivât, et le prédit même à quelques-uns.
Le cardinal Jacques de Vitry, qui communiquait familièrement avec elle et qui le premier a écrit sa vie, dit qu'il lui fut aussi révélé le lieu où elle devait être inhumée, et qu'elle le lui montra en particulier.
Enfin elle fut atteinte d'une longue et fâcheuse maladie dont elle mourut : pendant laquelle elle passa cinquante-trois jours sans prendre aucune nourriture que la sainte Communion.
Notre bienheureuse Marie d'Oignies avait mené une vie vraiment sainte et innocente : aussi reçut-elle de grandes consolations pendant sa maladie. Car outre les révélations divines dont Notre- Seigneur la consola, et que l'on sut par révélation même, les anges l'assistaient visiblement et la consolaient de discours divins. 0 admirable contentement ! Mais ce fut bien autre chose lorsqu'on lui donnait le sacrement de l'extrême-onction; car Notre-Seigneur lui apparut alors, accompagné de ses saints apôtres, et lui mit lui- même la croix sur les pieds. Ainsi cette sainte âme, toute remplie d'une joie si sensible, s'envola au ciel, conduite par les anges, le vingt-troisième jour de juin, l'an de Notre-Seigneur 1213. Son corps fut honorablement inhumé en l'église de Saint-Nicolas d'Oignies, au lieu même qu'elle avait montré au cardinal de Vitry.
Plusieurs auteurs font mention de sainte Marie d'Oignies. Le cardinal Jacques de Vitry, grand et savant personnage, a été le premier qui nous a laissé par écrit sa vie et ses actions miraculeuses, qu'il a rapportées fort amplement. Aussi en a-t-il eu une plus particulière connaissance que pas un : d'autant qu'étant envoyé par le Pape légat en Flandre, afin d'y prêcher et défendre l'Église contre les Albigeois, l'éclat des vertus et de la sainte vie de notre bienheureuse Marie lui donna la curiosité de la visiter souvent, et de communiquer avec elle. C'est de lui que tous ceux qui ont écrit sa vie ont pris ce qu'ils en ont dit : comme le docte Molan, Surius, Pierre des Natales et Doublet.
Also known as
Marie d’Oignies
19 August on
some calendars
Profile
Born wealthy. From her early youth Mary felt called to
the religious
life, but she entered into an arranged marriage at
age 14. She convinced her husband to live chastely, and to turn their home into
a leper hospice.
Mary gave away as much of her fortune to the poor as
she could, and spent her days caring for lepers.
She had a great devotion to Saint John
the Evangelist, and a high regard for her contemporary, Christina
the Astonishing. Later in life, she moved into a hermit‘s cell near
the Augustinian house
at Oignies, France and
spent the rest of her life there, praying for
souls in Purgatory,
and giving advice to would-be spiritual students. Noted for visions,
especially of Saint John and her guardian
angel, ecstacies, prophecies, and psychic gifts; she ate no meat, dressed
exclusively in white, may have been a stigmatist, and reported cut off pieces
of her flesh to rid herself of desire for the world.
Born
1167 at
Nivelles, diocese of Liege, Belgium
23 June 1213 of
natural causes
relics transferred
to a silver reliquary in
the church of Our Lady in Oignies in 1609
relics transferred
to the church of Saint Nicholas at Nivelle, Belgium in 1817
praying for
souls in Purgatory
protected from rain by
the Virgin
Mary sheltering her with her mantle
woman in
white in a hermit‘s cell praying
woman in
white in a hermit‘s cell spinning
woman in
white with an angel by
her side
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Sebastian Bowden
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books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
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Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti in italiano
MLA Citation
“Blessed Mary of Oignies“. CatholicSaints.Info.
28 November 2020. Web. 24 December 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-mary-of-oignies/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-mary-of-oignies/
Miniature Lives of the Saints –
Blessed Mary of Oignies
Article
Blessed Mary was born near Liege in 1180. She married
at fourteen, after a childhood of remarkable sanctity. Her holy example induced
her husband also to devote himself to good works, to live in chastity, and
distribute his riches to the poor, and together they served a hospital of
lepers. Neither the mockery of the world nor the artifices of the devil induced
them to abandon their holy purposes ; and this constancy drew down upon them
abundant celestial benedictions. Mary was constantly rapt in ecstasy. She
worked many miracles, read the secrets of hearts, and often saw our Lord
Himself in the Sacred Host. Her spirit was so occupied with the presence of God
that nothing could distract her; and she passed many days without speaking,
except to say, ‘I desire to receive the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ and
after Communion she relapsed again into total silence. Her tender love and
compassion for the sufferings of Jesus were so great that she conceived an
ardent desire for crosses. She never ate until evening, and then only black
bread ; but the angels appeared to her at table, and their heavenly conversation
overwhelmed her soul with delights. Being filled with humility and compunction,
she had an extreme horror of the smallest sin, and, although her life was so
innocent, the rigour of her penance was indescribable. She died at the age of
thirty-three, in a hermitage near Oignies.
Desire of Suffering
The example of Blessed Mary teaches us with what
tender affection we should regard the sufferings of Jesus Christ, and reminds
us that suffering for Him is the best proof we can offer Him of our gratitude for
His boundless love.
‘Write, O most loving Saviour, Thy wounds upon my
heart, that I may always read in them Thy pains and Thy love.’ – Saint
Augustine of Hippo
Blessed Mary could not behold a crucifix without being
dissolved in tears. To stop them she contemplated the majesty and impassibility
of God, but the remembrance of what this God of Majesty had suffered for her
made them flow faster than before. A priest once begged her to moderate her
tears and sighs, and pray in silence. Unable to do this, she left the church;
but she prayed God to show the priest the impossibility of a creature resisting
the operation of the Holy Ghost. The same day at Mass this priest was so filled
with tenderness that he was utterly unable to restrain his tears, and he shed them
so copiously that his vestments, and even the altar-cloths, were bathed with
them.
‘Let us go forth, therefore, to Him without the camp,
bearing His reproach.’ – Hebrews 13:13
MLA Citation
Henry Sebastian Bowden. “Blessed Mary of
Oignies”. Miniature Lives of the Saints for Every
Day of the Year, 1877. CatholicSaints.Info.
28 November 2020. Web. 24 December 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/miniature-lives-of-the-saints-blessed-mary-of-oignies/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/miniature-lives-of-the-saints-blessed-mary-of-oignies/
Blessed Mary (Marie)
d'Oignies, Widow (AC)
Born at Nivelles, Belgium, c. 1177; died in Oignies, Belgium, in 1213. Marie d'Oignies was only 14 when she married, but she persuaded her husband not to consummate the marriage. They lived together as brother and sister. They then turned their house into a leper hospital, and tended the sick there. Finally, Marie became a recluse in a cell near the church of Oignies, where she was favored by supernatural charismata. In a near contemporary biography, Marie d'Oignes, is said to have had a similar intense contemplation of the Passion 12 years before that of St. Francis. Wounds were detected on her body when it was washed at her death; however, it is not possible to know whether these were self- inflicted or of mystical origin. Marie could miraculously "see the Blessed Sacrament"
Born at Nivelles, Belgium, c. 1177; died in Oignies, Belgium, in 1213. Marie d'Oignies was only 14 when she married, but she persuaded her husband not to consummate the marriage. They lived together as brother and sister. They then turned their house into a leper hospital, and tended the sick there. Finally, Marie became a recluse in a cell near the church of Oignies, where she was favored by supernatural charismata. In a near contemporary biography, Marie d'Oignes, is said to have had a similar intense contemplation of the Passion 12 years before that of St. Francis. Wounds were detected on her body when it was washed at her death; however, it is not possible to know whether these were self- inflicted or of mystical origin. Marie could miraculously "see the Blessed Sacrament"
Marie's relics were placed in a silver shrine behind the altar at Oignies, a monastery of canons regular in the diocese of Namur. He vita was written by Cardinal James of Vitry, once a canon regular in that monastery, afterwards bishop of Acon in Palestine, and later of Tusculum. Her name is inserted in the calendars of several churches in Flanders, in some of which she has been honored with an office (Benedictines, Harrison, Martindale).
In art, Blessed Marie is pictured as a recluse visited by an angel. She may sometimes be shown (1) with an angel by her side; (2) spinning or praying in her cell; (3) interceding for the souls in purgatory; or (4) as the Virgin spreads her mantle over her to protect her from rain (Roeder).
She
is invoked by women in childbirth and against fever (Roeder).
June 23
St. Mary of Oignies
HER parents, who were wealthy inhabitants of Nivelle,
in Brabant, gave her a virtuous education, and married her young to a gentleman
remarkable for his piety. He imitated her in her long devotions and watchings,
and in the extraordinary austerities which she practised. This fervent couple
by mutual agreement devoted themselves to serve the lepers in a quarter of
Nivelle called Villembroke. By this abject life, they exposed themselves to the
railleries and contempt of their worldly friends; but human respects were no
temptation to our sincere lovers of the disgrace of the cross, who learned by
humiliations to die more perfectly to themselves; assiduous meditation on the
sufferings of Christ was their favourite exercise, and was to Mary a source of
continual tears; which, as she said to Cardinal Vitry, far from exhausting her
were her refreshment. Black dry bread with a few herbs, made up the slender
refection which she allowed herself only once a day. When she spun or worked,
she had the psalter always open before her, the more easily to prevent
distractions, by frequently casting her eyes on it; for she seemed in all her
employments never to cease praising God in her heart. She made every year two
pilgrimages to our Lady’s church at Oignies, two miles from the place of her
abode, and her devotion to the mother of God was most tender and remarkable.
The pious cardinal who has written her life testifies that in her prayer she
was favoured with frequent raptures and extraordinary heavenly visits; and that
her conversation, which was ordinarily on God, inflamed and comforted
exceedingly all who spoke to her. I know, says the same learned and pious
author, that many will laugh at what I relate, but those who have received of
God the like favours, will believe and understand me. A certain person of
eminent piety who came from a great distance to see her, received such comfort,
and such a flame was kindled in his breast by her words, that he ever after
continued to feel the effects in his soul, and found the bitterness which he
suffered from his earthly pilgrimage exceedingly alleviated. Another who
rallied his companions for turning out of their way to visit the servant of
God, and refused to go with them, being weary of waiting for them out of doors,
at last went in to hasten them out; but was suddenly so struck at the sight of
the saint’s countenance, and on hearing her words full of unction and ardour,
that his heart was that moment entirely changed: he melted into tears, and
after staying a long time to hear her heavenly discourses, could scarcely be
drawn from her company.
The saint on several occasions showed that she had
received from God the spirit of prophecy, and was endued with an eminent gift
of spiritual knowledge and counsel. These graces she obtained and preserved by
her profound humility, by which she sincerely regarded herself as the outcast
of the world, and unworthy to enjoy in any respect the rank of other creatures,
and with confusion both thought and styled herself entirely ignorant in the
paths of virtue. She was most watchful over her heart that nothing might enter
it but Jesus Christ and what belonged to his love. I never heard her let fall
one word, says our author, that savoured of the spirit of this world, and she
seasoned almost every sentence she spoke with the adorable name of Jesus. She
and her devout and most affectionate husband gave all their worldly possessions
for the relief of the poor, when they first devoted themselves to serve the
lepers at Villembroke. A few years before her death she left Villembroke, where
visitants from Nivellu sometimes broke into her solitude; and settled near the
church at Oignies, in a house belonging to a person of eminent virtue. She
there sighed continually in a holy impatience to go to God, and repeated almost
without intermission rapturous aspirations of divine love, and wonderful
praises of God, the Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity; passing from the
Trinity to the sacred humanity of Christ, and intermixing frequent Alleluias.
She approached most frequently the holy eucharist, in receiving which her countenance,
through the ardour of love which inflamed her breast, seemed to dart forth rays
of light. In her last sickness she was visited by the Archbishop of Toulouse,
by the widow of the Duke of Louvain, who was then a devout Cistercian nun, and
many other persons of distinction, who were all much edified by her saint-like
deportment; she calmly resigned her soul into the hands of her Creator in 1213,
being thirty-three, others say thirty-six years old. Her relics are placed in a
silver shrine behind the altar at Oignies, which is a monastery of regular
canons in the diocess of Namur. See her Life, written by the devout cardinal,
James of Vitry, once a canon regular in that monastery, afterwards bishop of
Acon in Palestine, and lastly of Tusculum. He died at Rome in 1244, and has
left us a history of the East, from the time of Mahomet, and some other works.
Her name is inserted in the calendars of several churches in Flanders, and her
relics enshrined in several places; in some she has been honoured with an office.
See Papebroke, t. 4, Junij, p. 631.
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume
VI: June. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
Beata Maria di Oignies
Fondatrice delle Beghine
Liegi, Belgio, 1177 circa - 1213
Maria
d'Oignies, beghina e mistica, nacque a Liegi nel 1177 circa da famiglia
benestante. All'età di 14 anni si sposò, ma in seguito decise con il marito di
dedicarsi ad una vita apostolica di castità e carità, lavorando in un
lebbrosario. All'età di 30 anni, nel 1207, si ritirò in una comunità di
conversi, ossia di suore e fratelli laici, coordinata da un gruppo di preti,
fra cui Jacques de Vitry, futuro Cardinale d'Acri in Palestina e protettore del
movimento delle beghine. Maria ebbe molta influenza spirituale su Jacques, che
ne scrisse la biografia e che la aiutò la fondare la sua comunità
autosufficiente di beghine e begardi. Nonostante le accuse di eresia che
sarebbero state mosse al movimento negli anni successivi, Maria fu sempre molto
ortodossa nelle sue convinzioni, tant'è che appoggiò con entusiasmo la Crociata
contro i catari del 1209. Nel 1212 si racconta che Maria avesse ricevuto le
stimmate, ben 12 anni prima di San Francesco. Morì nel 1213 all’età di 36 anni.
Martirologio
Romano: A Oignies sempre nell’Hainault, nel territorio dell’odierna Francia,
beata Maria, che, ricca di doni mistici, con il consenso del marito, visse
reclusa in una cella e poi fondò e regolamentò l’Istituto detto delle Beghine.
Le
antiche biografie di Maria di Oignies sono fondamentali per comprendere e
studiare il rinnovamento religioso dei Paesi Bassi nei secoli XII e XIII. La
santa in particolare ispirò il movimento delle beghine: donne che vivevano in
comunità, dirette spiritualmente da un sacerdote. Non erano suore, anche se
nella maggior parte dei casi facevano voto privato di castità, e traevano
sostentamento da attività lavorative senza chiedere la carità.
Maria nacque nel 1177 a Nivelles, nel Brabante, antico ducato compreso oggi nello stato del Belgio. Apparteneva ad una famiglia benestante, era molto religiosa e appena raggiunse i quattordici anni, per distoglierla dal pensiero di farsi monaca, i genitori combinarono il matrimonio con un pio giovane di nome Giovanni. Dopo alcuni anni di felice unione matrimoniale, tra lo sconcerto dei parenti, i due bravi coniugi decisero, di comune accordo, di dare i propri beni ai poveri per ritirarsi in un lebbrosario, a Willambroux, per servire i malati. Si formò una piccola comunità la cui fama si diffuse presto, soprattutto grazie a Maria, cui molti fedeli chiedevano preghiere e consigli. Raggiunti i trent’anni, la santa, col consenso del marito e del cognato sacerdote, suo confessore, decise di ritirarsi nel monastero agostiniano di Oignies. Visse in una cella accanto al coro della chiesa facendo la sacrestana. Nel 1207 conobbe Giacomo di Vitry, un canonico di Parigi. La donna gli chiese di stabilirsi in città e di dedicarsi alla predicazione. Erano tempi complessi, la cristianità era lacerata dalle lotte contro le eresie dei catari e degli albigesi. Maria, sebbene vivesse quasi in clausura, seguiva con trepidazione questi avvenimenti. Giacomo ne divenne il direttore spirituale e trasmetteva ai numerosi devoti i suoi insegnamenti. Maria e Giacomo, penitente e confessore, erano guide uno dell’altra. La santa trascorreva molte ore, anche notturne, davanti all’Eucaristia. Un giorno ebbe la premonizione che sarebbe stata istituita la festa del Corpus Domini. Così avvenne nel 1246, nella vicina Liegi, grazie a s. Giuliana di Cornillon che ebbe legami con le "beghine" e si fece monaca proprio nel 1207.
Nel 1212 Maria di Oignies conobbe s. Folco, vescovo di Tolosa, quando gli albigesi lo cacciarono dalla sua diocesi. Il santo si rifugiò a Liegi e rimase impressionato dalla santità di vita delle beghine. In quell’anno Maria ebbe le stimmate. L’anno successivo, dopo numerose e speciali grazie, morì, all’età di circa trentasei anni. Sul letto di morte predisse che sarebbe sorto un ordine di predicatori che, per il bene della Chiesa, avrebbe contrastato le eresie. Folco di Tolosa, insieme a s. Domenico, lottò contro i catari e assistette alla fondazione dei primi monasteri domenicani.
Nel 1216, su richiesta di Folco, Giacomo scrisse la vita di Maria con un lungo prologo in cui illustrava le vicende della nascita del movimento religioso. Per ottenere l’approvazione delle beghine e dei begardi, la corrispondente comunità maschile, andò a Perugia, sede temporanea del papato. Giacomo era un predicatore illustre, teologo e storico; divenne in seguito vescovo di S. Giovanni d’Acri, in Palestina. Nel 1228 fu nominato vescovo di Frascati e poi cardinale. Si prodigò molto perché venisse conosciuta la vita della sua penitente e la santità delle beghine. Diede il suo scritto anche all’amico cardinale Ugolino, futuro papa Gregorio IX. Nel 1230-31 Tommaso Cantimprè aggiunse all’opera un supplemento.Maria si consacrò con gioia al Signore rinunciando alla vita benestante, guardando a Colui che si era incarnato per salvare l’umanità. Maria, ancella di Cristo al servizio della Chiesa, esercitò un apostolato di preghiera e penitenza per la salvezza delle anime. Nella sua vicenda interiore sono riconoscibili i sette doni dello Spirito Santo. Il timor di Dio la spingeva alla povertà e all’umiltà. Grazie al dono della pietà curava i malati nel fisico, ma era pure madre spirituale delle loro anime. Il dono della scienza le conferiva la cautela, la fortezza le ispirò l’armonia del comportamento, il dono del consiglio le dava uno straordinario equilibrio. L’intelletto la fece un’anima contemplativa. Maria fu gratificata da visioni straordinarie, ma grazie al dono della sapienza rimase umile di cuore. Gustava la soavità della liturgia, soprattutto nelle solennità, e aveva una speciale devozione per l’evangelista Giovanni. Le beghine, non avendo regole che ne definissero le caratteristiche, ebbero un appoggio informale dalla Santa Sede. Le caratteristiche inusuali del movimento, nei periodi storici più difficili e confusi, causarono accuse di eresie. Ancora oggi in Belgio e Olanda esistono alcune comunità eredi del loro carisma.
Autore: Daniele Bolognini
Michel Lauwers .
« "Noli me
tangere". Marie
Madeleine, Marie d'Oignies et les pénitentes du XIIIe siècle », Mélanges de l'Ecole française de Rome. Moyen-Age, 1992
