St. Mary Magdalene is commemorated July 22
I'm blessed to call St. Mary Magdalene my patron saint. Called Equal to the Apostles, St. Mary Magdalene is known for suffering great torment, experiencing the healing and salvation of Christ, and dedicating her life to supporting Jesus' ministry and message.
I'm sure I'm not the only person to feel both a special kinship to her patron saint and to wonder what she was like in life. Certain things about her life—universal human things like spiritual torment, physical fatigue, or a soul's delight in the Lord —seem so relatable, while other things—first-century Palestine, walking physically with Jesus, boldly preaching to the Emperor—are not so easy to picture.
Mary was born in the ancient Jewish town of Magdala, a fishing village on the shores of Lake Galilee, between the cities of Capernaum and Tiberias. Today, the Israeli town of Migdal extends into this area. Archeologists continue to unearth the first-century town, and in 2009 excavated the Magdala Synagogue, the oldest synagogue yet discovered in Galilee.
We don't know anything about Mary's life before she met Jesus, but the Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus cast seven demons from her (Luke 8:2). She must have endured so much physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering. But in Christ, she experienced a transformative moment of liberation and peace. We know that from that moment of healing, Mary's life took a completely new direction.
A Woman of Means and Devotion
The Gospels tell us that Mary was among the women who "provided for [Jesus and the apostles] from their substance" (Luke 8:3). She had resources, and she used them generously to support Christ's ministry. Along with Joanna (the wife of Herod's steward), Susanna, and other women, Mary traveled with Jesus throughout Judea and Galilee, helping to sustain His work practically and financially.
Mary and the other women with Jesus left behind whatever life they had known to follow an itinerant preacher across the countryside. This might seem remarkable, but of course we see people answering Christ's call in exactly that way, immediately and without hesitation or doubt, over and over throughout the New Testament. We continue to see that same choice made today, when people feel the call of Christ and choose to radically change their life to answer it.
Courage When Others Fled
We know from all four Gospels that Mary Magdalene's faithfulness revealed itself most powerfully during Christ's darkest hours. When Jesus was arrested and condemned, and even his closest male disciples fled, Mary remained. Matthew and Mark name her first among the women who stood at the foot of the Cross, while John records her alongside the Theotokos and Mary the wife of Clopas. Luke doesn't specifically name the women who gathered, but notes "the women who had followed [Christ] from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things."
Mary and the women at the Cross continued watching as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took down Christ's body and carried it to the tomb. They saw the stone rolled across the entrance. They knew exactly where their Lord had been laid.
The First Easter Morning
What happened next changed the world forever. Gospel accounts vary, but according to John, very early on the first day of the week, so early it was still dark, Mary came to the tomb. Finding the stone rolled away, she ran to tell Peter and John, then returned to the garden alone.
Standing outside the empty tomb, weeping, she bent down and saw two angels in white. "Woman, why are you crying?" they asked. Mary's reply is so heartbroken, you can feel the sense of desperation in it: "They have taken my Lord away, and I don't know where they have put him."
Then she turned and saw a man she assumed was the gardener. When He asked the same question, "Why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" she begged him: "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him away."
We can't know why Mary didn't know Jesus until He spoke her name, "Mary," but when He did she knew his voice. "Teacher!"
The First Evangelist
Jesus gave Mary Magdalene this message: "Go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God'" (John 20:17). According to this account, she became the first person to proclaim the Resurrection, running to the disciples with news that would eventually transform the world: "I have seen the Lord!"
The Orthodox Church honors her with the title "Equal to the Apostles," and in some traditions she is called "Apostle to the Apostles" because she took Christ's message and proclaimed the resurrection to the apostles themselves. The Gospel accounts suggest that the apostle's initial reaction to this message was skepticism. Later, Christ "rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen." (Mark 16:14)
A Life of Mission
Scripture doesn't tell us much about Mary's life after the Resurrection, but tradition fills in some details. We're told that Mary Magdalene joined the apostolic mission beyond Jerusalem, traveling to Rome and fearlessly proclaiming Christ's Resurrection in the heart of the Empire. Tradition says that she even appeared before Emperor Tiberius, presenting him with an egg and declaring "Christ is Risen!" When the emperor replied that a man could no more rise from the dead than the egg could turn red, it immediately turned crimson in her hand. The tradition of giving red eggs at Pascha traces back to her example of creative, joyful proclamation.
First Witness and Eternal Example
What stands out most to me about Mary Magdalene is how completely Christ changed her. Her story, like so many of our beloved saints, is one of transformation. From whatever darkness the "seven demons" represented, she emerged as one of Christ's most devoted followers. Because she had experienced Christ's healing, her faithfulness never wavered. Not when crowds turned away, not when disciples fled, not when faced with the awful seeming finality of death.
I suspect everyone who has experienced how Christ heals us, transforms us, or reveals Himself to us in new ways can find something of Mary Magdalene's story in their own. Today, as we celebrate this great saint, we remember a woman from Magdala who became the first to proclaim a truth we still celebrate every Sunday: "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!"
Holy Mary Magdalene, Equal to the Apostles, pray for us!
