The “Prayer of St. Mary of Egypt” is a deeply moving prayer of repentance drawn from the life of one of the Church’s most remarkable penitent saints. The prayer acknowledges one’s unworthiness to even call upon Mary’s holy name, yet turns to her precisely because of that unworthiness — trusting in God’s mercy toward sinners. It asks Mary to intercede so the penitent may draw near to Christ, Who shed His Blood for sinners, and implores her to personally guide them by the hand along the path of repentance and conversion.
In the 7th century, St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, recorded the extraordinary story of Mary — a woman who lived a life of grave sin for seventeen years before experiencing a powerful conversion at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Unable to enter the church by a mysterious force, Mary cried out to the Blessed Virgin Mary before her icon, begging for help and promising to renounce her sinful life forever. Through Our Lady’s intercession, she was allowed to enter, and from that moment she spent the remaining forty-seven years of her life in the desert in prayer and penance.
Get the scoop → “St. Mary of Egypt: From Sinner to Desert Saint” (blog & podcast episode)
Prayer of St. Mary of Egypt
O Lady, Mother of God, who gave birth in the flesh to God the Word, I know, O how well I know, that it is no honor or praise to thee when one so impure and unworthy as I call upon thy holy name, O ever-virgin, who didst keep thy body and soul in purity. Rightly do I inspire reproach and unworthiness before thy virginal purity. But I have heard that God, Who was born of thee, became man on purpose to call sinners to repentance. Then help me, for I have no other help. Allow me to draw near to thy Son, Who suffered in the flesh and shed His holy Blood for the redemption of sinners and for me, unworthy as I am.
O loving Lady, thou hast shown me thy great love for all men. Glory to God, Who receives the repentance of sinners through thee. What more can I recollect or say, I who am so sinful? It is time for me, O Lady, to turn from my sins and follow thy Son. Now lead me by the hand along the path of repentance. Amen.