Vézelay, France
I alone love the unseen in you. (Jesus talking to Mary Magdalene in Kahlil Gibran’s Jesus, the Son of Man)
—Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931), Lebanese-born American artist, poet, and writer
When Saint Bernard of Clairvaux delivered his powerful sermon advocating the Second Crusade, he chose to speak at the Benedictine abbey now known as the Basilica Church of Saint Mary Magdalene. The Dominican church, a stunning example of French Burgundian Romanesque architecture, has been a favorite pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages.
If you want to show or be shown more compassion or to deepen your devotion to the Divine, visit the basilica to venerate Saint Mary Magdalene, whose name is often invoked by modern Christian women as an example of unconditional Divine love and unwavering devotion to Christ.
Light a candle, and as you pray for the seeds of love and compassion to germinate and grow in your heart, feel the spirit of Mary Magdalene fill you with holy love.
The basilica’s clerestory windows pierce the upper walls above the pews and are oriented so that at 12 p.m. on the summer solstice the sunlight enters through the panes and illuminates precise locations, suggesting that the effect was intentional. The nave of the church is one of the longest in France—a few yards less than Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.