Friday, July 22, we celebrate the Feast day of St. Mary Magdalene, often referred to as the repentant sinner. The Gospels agree that Mary was originally a great sinner. Jesus cast seven demons out of her when he met her. After this Mary became a disciple of Jesus. She told several women she associated with of Jesus and these women also became followers.
While some have imagined Mary Magdalene as either a prostitute or the wife of Jesus, Western Christianity since the time of St. Gregory the Great has traditionally identified her with three women in the New Testament: the sinful woman who anoints Jesus' feet with fragrant oils and washes them with her tears; Mary of Magdala; and Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha of Bethany. While opinions vary on just exactly who she was, it is certain that Mary Magdalene was part of the group of Jesus' disciples; she accompanied him to the foot of the Cross and, in the garden where she met him at the tomb, was the first witness of the resurrected Christ and was the first evangelist through her sharing the good news of Christ's resurrection with the Apostles. In fact, St. Thomas Aquinas, a Doctor of the Church, referred to St. Mary Magdalene as “Apostle of the Apostles,” because she was the one who announced Jesus’ resurrection to them and the world.
At Pope Francis’s request, the annual observance on the Catholic calendar of St. Mary Magdalene has been made a major feast marking women as the first evangelizers. Liturgically speaking, the decision puts Mary Magdalene on par with the celebrations of the male apostles. Saint Mary Magdalene is the first woman, other than the Blessed Virgin, whose liturgical celebration has been raised to the rank of a feast.
On the modern Church calendar, saints are remembered with a “memorial,” a “feast,” or a “solemnity.” On July 22, already designated a feast of Mary Magdalene, there are another 11 saints similarly honored, but now with the Vatican decree, hers takes precedence. In a letter released along with the Vatican announcement, the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship argued that Francis's decision speaks to the current moment facing the Church, which calls for “a deeper reflection on the dignity of women, the New Evangelization, and the greatness of the mystery of Divine Mercy.”
“Saint Mary Magdalene is an example of true and authentic evangelization; she is an evangelist who announces the joyful central message of Easter. Therefore it is right that the liturgical celebration of this woman has the same grade of feast given to the celebration of the apostles in the General Roman Calendar, and shines a light on the special mission of this woman, who is an example and model for every woman in the Church.”
Prominent author, Jesuit Father James Martin called the elevation “a recognition, long overdue,” for the woman “who first announced the Resurrection to the apostles. It reminds us of the supreme importance of women in Jesus’s ministry, and in the Church’s ministry today. In fact, between the time she encountered Christ at the tomb and when she proclaimed his Resurrection to them, Mary Magdalene was the Church on earth because only she understood the full meaning of Jesus’s ministry. Any discussion of women in the Church must proceed from that.”
There are many great, saintly women in the history of the Church: St. Thérèse of Lisieux (whose feast day is October 1), Mother Teresa of Calcutta (who will be canonized on September 4) and St. Kateri Tekakwitha (whose feast day is July 14), to name just a few. Additionally, there are many saintly women in our own lives: Mothers, grandmothers, widows and consecrated religious, who through their words and actions proclaim the good news of the Gospel to us and throughout the world.
Therefore, as we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene this Friday, July 22, let us ask for her prayers and intercession so that we may follow her example of fidelity and love and be true evangelists to the world
~Deacon Jim Olshefski