The Feast of Mary MagdaleneALMIGHTY God, whose blessed Son did sanctify Mary Magdalene, and call her to be a witness to his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by thy grace we may be healed of all our infirmities, and always serve thee in the power of his endless life; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen.
Saint Mary Magdalene, the apostle to the Apostles, is one of the most famous people of the Scriptures and certainly the most famous woman next to the Blessed Theotokos herself. She is also significantly misunderstood and at the same time a wonderful example of saintly virtue to be followed.
There is extremely little biographical information on St Mary Magdalene, despite the fact that she played an important role in the Scriptures as a disciple of Christ. Because of the numerous persons named Mary in the Scriptures, and also unnamed women, there is some level of conjecture as to which passages actually refer to Mary.
Most clearly, however, St Mark’s Gospel identifies that Christ had cast seven demons out of her, and after which she had become a disciple of Christ, one of a number of women who had followed him and his Apostles during their missionary journeys and supported them. This includes standing at the cross with the other women during Christ’s crucifixion, seeking to attend to his body after his death and also being present with the Apostles in the upper room after the resurrection.
There is an association with St Mary Magdalene also having been a sinner, often even the sinner referred to in St Luke’s Gospel (Lk 7. 37), though a possible explanation for this seems to be the fact that Magdalena, the place of St Mary’s birth, had a reputation for evil among Jews. It is likely for similar reasons that St Mary is variously viewed or described as an adulteress or prostitute.
In more recent years, popular rumours have sought to suggest St Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus, however while the speculation that St Mary was a prostitute or adulteress may still be supported through some valid inferences based on the Scriptures, there is absolutely no evidence in the Scriptures that Jesus was married to anyone during his earthly life, and indeed the documents used in recent years to popularize this rumour have all been shown to have been false or improperly translated.
Yet it is sometimes this mystique of St Mary Magdalene as having not only been held in bondage by seven demons but also having been living in a sinful life that enhances the hope found in her. She goes from being bound by seven demons, potentially also living a life of sin, to being one of the chief disciples of Christ, and witness to his ministry. She was present at his crucifixion and was witness to his resurrection.
It is from the latter that she earns her title “apostle to the Apostles.” This in and of itself is often misunderstood. St Mary Madgalene, though an important disciple of Christ, was not one of the twelve. The title “apostle to the Apostles” becomes clearer when it is understood that apostle simply means “messenger” she was the messenger of the resurrection to the Apostles who were those commissioned by Christ to proclaim his gospel and bear witness to his ministry.
Her life and ministry is a testament to the power of Christ’s redemption and reconciliation. She went from being bound by demons to serving at the feet of Christ and bearing witness to his resurrection, just as we are all able to go from being bound in sin to serving Christ and bearing witness to the power of his resurrection in others.
Just as there is little biographical evidence of her origins, there is little in the way of evidence of what happened to St Mary Magdalen after the end of her Biblical accounts. Some evidence suggests she retired to Ephesus where she lived out her life, though there is no real strong evidence in favour of this understanding. Neither is it particularly important to her witness to the power of Christ, instead emphasizing only those parts of her life in which she was redeemed and called by Christ.
St Mary Magdalen is an important witness to the power of forgiveness and redemption and models the life all Christians aspire to, responding to our Baptism in Christ through faithful discipleship.
There is extremely little biographical information on St Mary Magdalene, despite the fact that she played an important role in the Scriptures as a disciple of Christ. Because of the numerous persons named Mary in the Scriptures, and also unnamed women, there is some level of conjecture as to which passages actually refer to Mary.
Most clearly, however, St Mark’s Gospel identifies that Christ had cast seven demons out of her, and after which she had become a disciple of Christ, one of a number of women who had followed him and his Apostles during their missionary journeys and supported them. This includes standing at the cross with the other women during Christ’s crucifixion, seeking to attend to his body after his death and also being present with the Apostles in the upper room after the resurrection.
There is an association with St Mary Magdalene also having been a sinner, often even the sinner referred to in St Luke’s Gospel (Lk 7. 37), though a possible explanation for this seems to be the fact that Magdalena, the place of St Mary’s birth, had a reputation for evil among Jews. It is likely for similar reasons that St Mary is variously viewed or described as an adulteress or prostitute.
In more recent years, popular rumours have sought to suggest St Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus, however while the speculation that St Mary was a prostitute or adulteress may still be supported through some valid inferences based on the Scriptures, there is absolutely no evidence in the Scriptures that Jesus was married to anyone during his earthly life, and indeed the documents used in recent years to popularize this rumour have all been shown to have been false or improperly translated.
Yet it is sometimes this mystique of St Mary Magdalene as having not only been held in bondage by seven demons but also having been living in a sinful life that enhances the hope found in her. She goes from being bound by seven demons, potentially also living a life of sin, to being one of the chief disciples of Christ, and witness to his ministry. She was present at his crucifixion and was witness to his resurrection.
It is from the latter that she earns her title “apostle to the Apostles.” This in and of itself is often misunderstood. St Mary Madgalene, though an important disciple of Christ, was not one of the twelve. The title “apostle to the Apostles” becomes clearer when it is understood that apostle simply means “messenger” she was the messenger of the resurrection to the Apostles who were those commissioned by Christ to proclaim his gospel and bear witness to his ministry.
Her life and ministry is a testament to the power of Christ’s redemption and reconciliation. She went from being bound by demons to serving at the feet of Christ and bearing witness to his resurrection, just as we are all able to go from being bound in sin to serving Christ and bearing witness to the power of his resurrection in others.
Just as there is little biographical evidence of her origins, there is little in the way of evidence of what happened to St Mary Magdalen after the end of her Biblical accounts. Some evidence suggests she retired to Ephesus where she lived out her life, though there is no real strong evidence in favour of this understanding. Neither is it particularly important to her witness to the power of Christ, instead emphasizing only those parts of her life in which she was redeemed and called by Christ.
St Mary Magdalen is an important witness to the power of forgiveness and redemption and models the life all Christians aspire to, responding to our Baptism in Christ through faithful discipleship.
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