St Mary Magdalen

Mary Magdalen has always drawn Christian love because her story gathers so many of the Gospel’s deepest notes into one figure: forgiveness, discipleship, contemplation, fidelity, and Easter joy. In the older Western tradition she is identified with the sinner who came weeping to Christ, with Mary of Bethany, and with Mary Magdalen at the tomb. Read that way, the line of her life becomes especially moving. She first appears in tears at the feet of Jesus, loving much because she has been forgiven much. She then belongs to the company of women who minister to Christ and stands among those who learn at His feet in Bethany, while Martha serves busily beside her. The penitent becomes the contemplative. The same line reaches its full beauty in the Passion and Resurrection.

Mary stays near the cross when others have fled, watches the burial, returns with spices while it is still dark, and receives the great mercy of being the first to meet the risen Lord and hear Him call her by name. That is the summit of this life. Whatever questions later scholars may raise about the exact identifications, the Church’s devotion has long loved this picture of a soul changed by mercy and made steadfast by love. The later Provençal stories about a voyage to France, the cave of Sainte-Baume, and the relics of Saint-Maximin belong to another category. They are not to be confused with the Gospel heart of her memory. What remains central is the Magdalen of repentance, devotion, and Easter witness.