Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified was born as Mary Baouardy on January 5, 1846 in Palestine to Greek Melchite Catholic parents. Twelve of her thirteen brothers died in infancy and her birth was an answer to a prayer to Our Lady. Her parents died when Mary was only 2 years old and she was raised by her uncle. She was betrothed in an arranged married at the age of 13, but refused to go along with it and insisted on a religious life. As a punishment, her uncle hired her our as a servant and made sure she had the lowest of jobs. Mary met a Muslim friend who tried to convert her from Christianity. On September 8, 1858 she convinced him that she would never abandon her faith and he cut her throat and left her in an alley. She lived, an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary treated her wound, and left her uncle's house forever.
In 1860 she moved in with the Sisters of Saint Joseph, but they would not let her join their house because of supernatural events that began. In 1867 she was taken in by a sister in Pau and became a lay sister. Later she entered the cloister and took the name Mary of Jesus Crucified and made her final profession on November 21, 1871.
She received the stigmata, was known to levitate, had the gift of prophecy, and other things. She helped found the missionary Carmel in India and went to France in 1872. She built a Carmelite monastery in Bethlehem in 1875. She was known for her devotion to the Holy Spirit and even sent words to Pope Pius IX that the Holy Spirit was not emphasized enough in the seminaries. She died on August 26, 1878 in Bethlehem of gangrene following an injury at the construction of the Bethlehem monastery. She was beatified on November 13, 1983 and awaits canonization.
"The proud person is like a grain of wheat thrown into water: it swells, it gets big. Expose that grain to the fire: it dries up, it burns. The humble soul is like a grain of wheat thrown into the earth: it descends, it hides itself, it disappears, it dies but to revive in heaven."
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