St. Mary of Egypt

Their story

Mary of Egypt lived in the fourth and fifth centuries. Her story was written down by St. Sophronius, a patriarch of Jerusalem, from accounts passed on by the monks of Palestine. At about twelve years old Mary ran away from home to the city of Alexandria. For seventeen years she lived a life of sexual sin. By her own account she was driven less by money than by a desire she could not control, and she sought out pleasure wherever she could find it. One year Mary joined a crowd of pilgrims sailing to Jerusalem for the feast of the Holy Cross, more out of curiosity than faith. When she tried to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to see the relic of the Cross, an unseen force held her back at the door while everyone else went in. Standing outside, she saw her life clearly for the first time. She turned to an icon of the Virgin Mary near the entrance, wept, and begged for help, promising to change her life. When she tried again, she was able to enter and venerate the Cross. She then heard a voice telling her that if she crossed the Jordan River she would find rest. Mary went out into the desert beyond the Jordan and lived there alone for many years in prayer and penance. She later told the monk Zosimas that the old desires tormented her for seventeen years before she found peace, and that she survived by calling on the Mother of God. Zosimas met her near the end of her life, heard her story and brought her Holy Communion. When he returned a year later he found that she had died. Her feast is kept on April 1. Mary of Egypt is a powerful friend for anyone struggling with pornography, lust or sexual compulsion: her long, hard road shows that no one is beyond God's mercy, and that freedom is possible.