St. Mary Magdalene July 22
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“ The Feast of St. Mary Magdalene is considered one of the most mystical of feasts, and it is said that of all the songs of the saints, that of Mary Magdalene is the sweetest and strongest because her love was so great. That love was praised by Jesus himself who said that because much was forgiven her, she loved much. Where she is buried, no one knows.
Legend has her dying in Provence, France, in a cavern where she spent her last days, and her body resting in the chapel of St. Maximin in the Maritime Alps. Another has her buried in Ephesus where she went with St. John after the Resurrection. This latter view is more likely, and St. Willibald, the English pilgrim to the Holy Land in the eighth century, was shown her tomb there. She was the first witness to the resurrection of Jesus, His most ardent and loving follower. She had stood with Mary at the foot of the Cross on that brutal Good Friday afternoon and had been by the side of Mary during these difficult hours. On Easter morning, she went with the other women to the tomb and it was there, in the garden near the tomb, that Jesus appeared to her. It was she who brought the news of the Resurrection to the Apostles, and Peter and John raced to the tomb to see what had happened. She was from Magadala, a small fishing town on the Sea of Galilee, between Capernaum and Tiberius. She was known to be a "great sinner," a woman of the streets who heard Jesus speak of the mercy and forgiveness of God and changed her life completely. Her matter-of-fact witness to the Resurrection moved Peter and John to go and see for themselves: "I have seen the Lord and these things he said to me." Jesus had chosen her to bring the news to them and she simply told them what had happened. She has always been the example of great love and great forgiveness, one of those close to Jesus who grasped the truth of God's love for human beings and spent her life bearing witness to that love.” [Excerpted from The One Year Book of Saints by Rev. Clifford Stevens] |
To Pray
Collect: Father, your Son first entrusted to Mary Magdalene the joyful news of his resurrection. By her prayers and example may we proclaim Christ as our living Lord and one day see him in glory, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. To Discuss: Can anyone guess why Mary Magdelen is called the "Apostle of the Apostles?" St Thomas Aquinas reserved the special title, "Apostle of the Apostles" (apostolorum apostola), dedicating to her this comment: "Just as a woman had announced the words of death to the first man, so also a woman was the first to announce to the Apostles the words of life" (Super Ioannem, ed. Cai, 2519). Remember she was first to witness the resurrection of Christ. To Make These shell-shaped cookies are called Madeleines, named after St. Mary Magdalene and served on her Feast Day.They take a special cookie tin to make or you can find them in a store. Here is the recipe just in case: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/madeleines-ii/detail.aspx To Color Here is a free coloring page of Mary Magdalene and Jesus. |
