Mary Magdalene

mary_2Among the many amazing details of the Easter account we are hearing this Sunday, notice Mary Magdalene. In Mark’s Gospel, written first, and in Matthew and Luke who used Mark as a source for their Gospels, Magdalene goes with other women to the tomb of Jesus. By the time John’s Gospel is written after 100 of the Christian era, it is she alone who goes to the tomb, and in the dark before dawn. Thus, John highlights or elevates her because by that time she has become the preeminent witness of the resurrection for John’s community. Unfortunately, in later centuries, way before modern biblical scholarship, the character of Magdalene was conflated into a composite of a sinful woman who repents; check Wikipedia to learn more. Today with the help of better scholarship, Magdalene is revered as a great disciple and saint and patroness of all us women of the Church. She inspires us to seek Jesus with determination and courage and to witness to the Lord we have come to know with our voices, especially in speaking to our male colleagues.

– Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia

One Comment:

  1. And how appropriate today when women are again (still…) having to fight for equality in the Church as well as in the national political situation. HOPE you have a blessed and joyful Easter.

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