Mary Magdalene is the most important woman in the New Testament, after the Blessed Mother. There is much misunderstanding about her that I always feel I must address. Mary is from the town of Magdala and was possessed by seven demons. After Jesus cast these out of her, she became one of His closest followers.
    
Mary’s role became more significant when we see her at the foot of the Cross, along with the Blessed Mother and the Beloved Disciple. She remained with Jesus all the way to the end. 
    
On Easter Sunday, after Jesus had risen from the dead, she encountered Him, believing Him to be a gardener. Jesus revealed Himself to her and told her to go to Peter and the others and tell them that He was risen. For this reason, she is known as the Apostle to the Apostles. 
    
There is no more mention of Mary after the Resurrection account, but early Church tradition tells us that she later went down into the Egyptian deserts and lived a life of a penitent there. 
    
We honor her on Tuesday, July 22.

There were two Apostles named James. They are distinguished by calling them James the Greater and James the Lesser. This Friday, July 25, is the feast of St. James the Greater. He is the brother of John, the Beloved Disciple. They are called the Sons of Zebedee, and Jesus nicknames them the Sons of Thunder, because of their explosive tempers. 
    
James would travel to Spain and preach the Gospel there.  The Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago) continues to this day. When James returned to Jerusalem, he was arrested and beheaded by Herod, the first of the Twelve to die a martyr’s death.

Saturday, July 26, is the Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Mother. Scripture does not give us their names, but Church tradition identifies them. It also contains stories about them and the childhood of Mary.