Legends of saints usually become more and more beautiful and radiant over time – with Mary Magdalene it was exactly the opposite. The oldest surviving testimony about her is the New Testament, where she plays an important role in all four Gospels as “Mary Magdalene”. Together with other female disciples, she followed Jesus and did not abandon him even at the crucifixion (cf. Mark 15:40f). In the Gospel of John, Mary is even the first to encounter the risen Christ. As a witness, she is to proclaim the Easter message to the other disciples (cf. John 20:11-18). However, Mary’s image began to change as early as the 4th century: The respected disciple was increasingly identified with other female figures. In particular, the equation with the nameless “sinner” (cf. Lk 7:36-50) earned Mary the reputation of a prostitute and fired the imagination of numerous artists. It was not until the 20th century that Mary returned to the church’s consciousness as a messenger of faith. In 2016, Pope Francis revived Mary’s ancient title of “Apostle to the Apostles” and elevated her day of remembrance to the status of a feast.
Prayer to St Mary Magdalene
O Glorious St. Magdalene,
“model of penitents,”
obtain for me
the grace of perseverance
in the practices of self-denial
according to the Spirit
of my vows;
pray to God for me
that I may appear before Jesus
Our Lord and Master,
at the moment of my death,
with my lamp
filled with the oil of faith
and hope, and burning
with the pure flame of charity;
and thus merit to be received
with thee into
His eternal Kingdom.
Amen.
