St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) was a messenger of the Sacred Heart. She was born on July 22, 1647, at L’Hautecor, France. Three days later, she was baptized with the name Margaret.

When she was four or five, she heard for the first time about consecrated life and religious vows. Little Margaret constantly felt compelled to say again and again these words: “O my God, I consecrate my purity to you and I vow to you my perpetual chastity.”

One day, she uttered this phrase between the two elevations of the Mass. She felt that these words had marked her life. Later, Jesus would say to her, “I have chosen you for my spouse. We were promised to one another when you made the vow of chastity, which I inspired you with before the world had a place in your heart.”

Margaret had great love for Our Lady. Each day, she prayed the Rosary with extraordinary devotion. Margaret was sick and was paralyzed for four years. She promised Our Lady to become a religious someday, and her health was restored. She recalled: “No sooner had I made this vow than I received this cure.”

Margaret confessed: “Having recovered my health, I did not think of anything but finding pleasure in the use of my liberty, without worrying about carrying out my promise.” The teenage Margaret gave herself over to vanity and affection of creatures while experiencing a period of spiritual laxity.

Margaret soon experienced another kind of suffering. She and her mother were badly treated by some relatives. They also suffered poverty and humiliations. Our Lord comforted Margaret and said to her: “I want to make myself present to your soul in order to make you act as I myself acted in the midst of cruel sufferings endured for love of you.”

Margaret would later say, “Since that time, Jesus always remained present to me in the spirit, crowned with thorns, carrying His cross or crucified. I thus had so much compassion for Him and love for His sufferings that my troubles became light, and I desired greater sorrows in order to render myself similar to Him.”

For six years (from 18 to 24), Margaret struggled between her love for the world and the call to religious life. Margaret loved parties and dances. However, God pursued her even into the midst of these entertainments. At times, she felt so uneasy that she left and went to a church or a quiet place to lament her weakness. She would ask for forgiveness for her attachment to social life, but the next day, she would return to the same entertainments.

One night, in her room, after removing her festive dress and the jewels with which she had adorned herself, Jesus appeared with the wounds of his scourging. He said, “It is your vanities which have reduced me to this state. By your irresoluteness you are losing time which I will ask a rigorous account for at your death. You are betraying me with your infidelities. You would die of shame at all your ingratitudes compared to all the proofs of love which I have given you to attract you to me.”

Margaret made the resolution to intensify her austerities and penitence. However, Jesus was not satisfied with this, for he wanted her to become a nun, as she had promised.

Finally, after six years of struggling, Margaret made up her mind to enter religious life. On May 26, 1671, she went to the Visitation Sainte-Marie de Paray-le-Monial. As soon as she entered the parlour, an interior voice informed her, “This is where I want you.”

 

                                              瑪加利大回應聖召 

聖瑪加利大.瑪利亞 (1647-1690) 是耶穌聖心的使者。1647年7月22日,她出生於法國蒲公田省。出生後三日接受洗禮,取聖名瑪加利大。四、五歲時,瑪加利大第一次聽得有關獻身生活及修道聖願。小瑪加利大常感到被推動說:「噢,我的天主!我把我的貞潔奉獻給祢,並許願終生守貞。」有一天的彌撒中,在舉揚聖體和聖血之間,她重複了她的回應,感覺到這些話銘刻了她的一生。不久,耶穌對她說:「我揀選了你作我的淨配。當你發貞潔願時,我們互相許諾。在世俗佔進你心前,我啟發你發願。」

瑪加利大很愛聖母,每天以特別敬愛聖母的心誦唸玫瑰經。她曾有四年臥病在床;為求痊癒,她向聖母許下康復後進入修院修道。她追憶說:「許願後,我很快便得到康復了。」但她亦坦言:「恢復健康後,我卻只顧利用我的自由尋找快感,卻不顧慮實踐我的許諾。」年青的她,追求虛榮和對世物的愛,經歷一段靈修鬆懈的時期。

瑪加利大很快又經歷另一種憂苦:她和母親在貧窮中渡日,一些親戚苛刻地對待她們。吾主安慰她說:「我要在你的靈魂內臨在,好讓你儼如我為你而受殘酷痛苦中那樣行動。」瑪加利大說;「從那時起,耶穌常以戴著茨冠、背負十字架、或被釘的形態顯示給我心。我因此對衪有如此深的同情並愛慕衪的苦痛,以致我自己的煩惱變得輕省的,我並渴望多些痛苦,好使我能相似衪。」

有六年時間(年十八至二十四歲),瑪加利大處於流漣世俗之心及修道的召叫之間掙扎,她喜歡熱鬧的派對和舞蹈。天主卻不放棄尋找她,有時她心感不安而離開娛樂,跑到聖堂或僻靜的地方,為自己的軟弱而悲痛。她求主寬恕她對娛樂的眷戀;不過,在第二天,她又故態復萌。

一天晚上,瑪加利大回到自己的房間,剛卸下喜愛的慶衣和飾物,滿身傷痕的耶穌顯現,對她說:「是你的虛榮心使我落得這田地;你的躊躇磋跎了你的時間,我要在你死時,嚴地給你算賬。你的不忠負賣了我;我為吸引你而給予愛的實證,而你卻忘恩負義,你會因此而感到羞愧地死去。」瑪加利大遂決定加強苦行和懺悔之心;但耶穌仍不滿意。衪要一如她許諾過的-----成為修女。最後,再三掙扎了六個年頭,瑪加利大在1671年5月26日,進入了聖母往見修院。她甫步入修院的客廳時,內心有聲音對她說:「這裡就是我要你到的地方!」