this week's feasts
St. Mary Magdalene
On Wednesday, July 22, the Church honors St. Mary Magdalene, a most misunderstood saint. She is actually Mary of Magdala. When she first met Jesus, she was possessed by seven demons. Jesus cast them out of her, and she became a disciple of Jesus. In the Gospel of John, we are told that Mary Magdalene was at the foot of the Cross with Mary and John, the Beloved Disciple. At some point, after the Resurrection and Ascension, she became a penitent, living in the deserts of Egypt.
Mary has been given the title, the “Apostle to the Apostles.” She was the first person to encounter the risen Christ and was sent by Him to go to the Twelve and to announce to them that He was risen.
There have been mistaken images of Mary. There are several Marys in the New Testament, and a number of other women, who many have thought to be Mary. The woman caught in adultery is often called Mary. There is nothing in the Scriptures that say that she was Mary Magdalene. The woman “known to be a sinner” (a prostitute) who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and dried them with her hair has also been said to be Mary Magdalene. She has repeatably been called a prostitute, with no evidence.
In modern literature, there is Jesus Christ Superstar, which portrays her as Jesus’ lover. We have Dan Brown, the author of The Di Vinci Code, who denies that she was a prostitute, but who claims that Jesus did not die and rise again, but lived and took Mary to be His wife, and the mother of His children. That makes all of Christianity a lie, and both of them frauds. All of these demean and degrade her.
Mary has been given the title, the “Apostle to the Apostles.” She was the first person to encounter the risen Christ and was sent by Him to go to the Twelve and to announce to them that He was risen.
There have been mistaken images of Mary. There are several Marys in the New Testament, and a number of other women, who many have thought to be Mary. The woman caught in adultery is often called Mary. There is nothing in the Scriptures that say that she was Mary Magdalene. The woman “known to be a sinner” (a prostitute) who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and dried them with her hair has also been said to be Mary Magdalene. She has repeatably been called a prostitute, with no evidence.
In modern literature, there is Jesus Christ Superstar, which portrays her as Jesus’ lover. We have Dan Brown, the author of The Di Vinci Code, who denies that she was a prostitute, but who claims that Jesus did not die and rise again, but lived and took Mary to be His wife, and the mother of His children. That makes all of Christianity a lie, and both of them frauds. All of these demean and degrade her.
St. James the Greater
Among the Twelve, Jesus had three who were His inner circle: Peter, John, and James. James is the brother of John, and is often called James the Greater, although we are not sure why. Was he physically larger, or was it because of his significance in the Twelve? We do not know. After the Ascension, James became the leader of the Jerusalem community. Later, he travelled as a missionary to Spain. When he returned, he became the first of the Twelve to die as a martyr.
His feast day is this Saturday, July 25.
His feast day is this Saturday, July 25.
