Today the Church is celebrating the feast of St. Mary Magdalen. We know very little about her life, in fact nothing apart from what appears in the Gospels. Even what appears in the Gospels ends up being a bit mixed up in a lot of people's minds because she is often confused with other women who were part of the company of disciples.
Throughout the centuries, writers have tried to come up with stories to fill in the gaps of this woman's life and in recent years they have come up with some wild theories about her. A whole genre of literature seems to have sprung up dealing with the relationship that she had with Jesus. Some authors go so far as the say that she and Jesus married. As silly as that may be, the simple fact is that she loved Jesus; in the same way that each of us is called to love Him.
The Gospel reading used at Mass today (Jn 20:1-2, 11-18) has Mary at the tomb on Easter Sunday morning weeping and wondering where the body of Jesus has gone. When she finally recognizes Jesus He sends her to tell the others that He is risen.
Her love for Him led to her being assigned a task; to share the good news of how she has encountered Jesus. This is something that all of us are invited to do.
Throughout the centuries, writers have tried to come up with stories to fill in the gaps of this woman's life and in recent years they have come up with some wild theories about her. A whole genre of literature seems to have sprung up dealing with the relationship that she had with Jesus. Some authors go so far as the say that she and Jesus married. As silly as that may be, the simple fact is that she loved Jesus; in the same way that each of us is called to love Him.
The Gospel reading used at Mass today (Jn 20:1-2, 11-18) has Mary at the tomb on Easter Sunday morning weeping and wondering where the body of Jesus has gone. When she finally recognizes Jesus He sends her to tell the others that He is risen.
Her love for Him led to her being assigned a task; to share the good news of how she has encountered Jesus. This is something that all of us are invited to do.
