ST MARY OF MAGDALA AND THE BEAUTY OF A LIFE TRANSFORMED BY CHRIST

Fr Billy Swan

Last week, we highlighted the figure of Peter who is one of the saints that features prominently in the Gospels during Holy Week and Easter. This week, we feature another, namely that of Mary of Magdala and see in her the beauty of a life transformed by Christ.

Mary became one of Jesus’s most prominent followers and according to the Gospels, she was the first person to witness and proclaim his resurrection. Once the risen Lord had appeared to her, she went to announce the news to the Apostles. For this reason, she is often called the "Apostle to the Apostles," a name given her by St Thomas Aquinas.

In the tradition of Western Christianity, Mary of Magdala is portrayed as a reformed prostitute due to her being unfairly confused with the woman in Luke’s Gospel who is described as someone ‘who had a bad name in the town’ (7:37). Whatever Mary’s past life was like, she represents someone who had lost herself in other pursuits and passions. The Gospels of Mark and Luke describe her as someone “from whom seven devils” had been cast out. In Scripture, and also in our modern understanding, to be possessed by demons is to be split internally with a damaged or destroyed sense of self. We see this elsewhere in the Gospel story of a man possessed by demons who was asked his name and replied: “our name is legion for there are many of us” (Mark 5:9; Luke 8:30). This is where the integrity of a single soul created by God is fractured and alienated from its source of life. The component parts of our humanity that belong together and are united by the Holy Spirit, come asunder, resulting in deep unhappiness, confusion and misery.

For Mary of Magdala, that all changed because of the gifts of love and mercy she received from Jesus. She became his follower and was one of the few loyal disciples found with him at the foot of the cross. On Easter Sunday, Mary encountered the risen Lord who asked her why she was weeping and who she was looking for.

Aren’t those the questions that Jesus addresses to each of us too? Who or what are we truly seeking? Who or what is our highest good and is it providing the happiness we crave? These questions also challenge us to re-order our lives to recognise God as our highest good and to realise the truth of Dante’s words that “in your will is our peace”.

Then Jesus calls her by name: “Mary!” It was a moment of joy, of recognition and the restoration of hope. But rather than basking in the moment and being allowed to remain in that intimate space, Mary is asked by Jesus “not to cling to me” and instead to go and be a missionary of Easter joy to the Apostles. This she did with a testimony of someone who knew the Lord and as someone whose life was changed by him. Jesus Christ was the one who accepted her, loved her, forgave her and knew her better than she knew herself.

The life of Mary of Magdala is a window through which we can see the grace of God triumphant in a life in need of healing. Many of us still have a dominant understanding of Christianity as a code to live a good life and of Jesus as a moral teacher. Jesus certainly is a moral teacher, but what makes him unique is his power as God made human, to transform lives by forgiving sin and re-centering them on himself in a way that restores true freedom, peace and joy. Our souls might not be possessed by demons but our inner-selves are often compromised and split by competing wants, addictions and fears. This can also be true of religious people who lack that deep personal experience of Christ and his mercy. Here is a key foundation of our call to become missionary disciples in modern Ireland, namely that the faith we share emerges from a heart that has been touched by the gift of God’s loving mercy.

During the Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2016, the memorial of Saint Mary Magdalene on 22^nd July was elevated to a Feast by Pope Francis. This greater prominence given to Mary of Magdala was explained by the Holy Father as calling us “to reflect more deeply on the dignity of women, the new evangelisation and the greatness of the mystery of divine mercy.” Here is the mercy that comes to meet us, that recognises us by name and admits us to the intimacy of his love. May we all be renewed in that love this Easter.