Mary Magdalene hailed from the little town of Magdala in Galilee. She found favour with Jesus who exorcised her of seven demons. (Lk.8: 1-2; Mk.16: 9). She was a grateful and faithful disciple, who along with other devout women, followed and ministered to Jesus and to the twelve out of their means. Mary of Magdala exhibited rare courage and discipleship by following her Master up to Mount Calvary and then accompanied his dead body up to the tomb, when even the Apostles lost their nerves and fled in fear and shame. (Mt.27: 55-56; Mk.15: 40-41; Jn.19: 25). It was Mary Magdalene, who with two other women, discovered the empty tomb and heard from an angel that Jesus was risen from the dead. (Mk.16: 1-7; Mt.28: 1-8) Lk.24: 1-10; Jn.20:1-13). She had the unique privilege of being one of the first to encounter the Risen Christ and of being commissioned to convey a message to the Apostles. “Then Jesus said to them: Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (Mt. 28: 8-10; Jn.20: 11-18). These are the bare facts, which we know for certain from the Gospels. Everything else is conjecture.
There has been a considerable difference of opinion among Biblical Scholars and exegetes with regard to the true identity of Mary Magdalene. Some Fathers of the Church, including Pope Gregory the Great, had identified her with St. Luke’s unnamed sinner who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears, dried them with her hair and perfumed them with a very costly ointment. (Lk.7: 36-38). Some others have attempted to identify her with Mary of Bethany, sister of Lazarus and Martha. (Jn.12:1-3). According to some others, the adulterous woman whom Jesus protected from being stoned by the Jews is also said to be Mary Magdalene (Jn.8: 2-11). Novelists and dramatists have all through the centuries found in her a suitable theme to ignite their fantasies, create a sensation and capture popular attention. Nonetheless, according to moderns Scholars there is absolutely no evidence in the Scriptures to prove that Mary of Magdala had ever been a public sinner or a prostitute.
An ancient tradition of the Eastern Church claims that Mary Magdalene accompanied the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John to Ephesus where she had a natural death, as did the others. However, a much later tradition of the Church in the West states that she, along with Martha, Lazarus and Maximinus, proceeded to evangelize Provence in France. While Maximinus became the Bishop of Aix,Mary Magdalene retreated to a cave near Marseilles. This cave (Ls Sainte-Baume) has been a centre of pilgrimage ever since the 5th Century. Though her relics have been claimed by various places at various times, none of her mortal remains have ever been identified or authenticated.
The four Gospels, written by eyewitnesses or by those who had direct link with these, are “the strongest and authentic expression” of Jesus Christ’s life and message as told and lived by the first Christian Community. The Apocryphal and the Gnostic Gospels were written centuries after the death of the Apostles and their contemporaries. In other words, these were composed by people who neither were eyewitness nor ever heard from eyewitnesses. Yet, some modern novelists, including Dan Brown with his Da Vinci Code, accept these sources as “facts” which, in reality, are not “factual, but “fictional.” Such authors attempt to cater to human quest for sensationalism by distorting and subverting truth. No wonder, historians and Scripurists consider their writings as figment of imagination or imaginative hypotheses.
Reflections: i) For centuries together, Mary Magdalene has been unjustly treated and slandered against as a sinner, a public woman, a prostitute etc. Yet, as a great saint, she may be smiling at her “mistaken identity,” and at our human frailties. She wouldn’t bother about it as long as we believe in her testimony: “I have seen the Lord.” (Jn.20: 18)
ii) She serves as a role model for Christian women, who exercise bravery and leadership in challenging circumstances.
The Holy Spirit anointed Magdalene the Apostle of the Apostles.
St, Augustine.
