- Feb 5, 2002
- 182,736
- 66,222
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
If anything can rightly be said about St. Mary Magdalene, it is that she remains a mysterious and oftentimes elusive figure. Over the centuries, her identity has been debated and disputed endlessly, with the result that today many Catholics are left feeling very confused. What exactly do we know about her on the basis of the Gospels? And was she a reformed prostitute?
Thus we know that Mary Magdalene had seven demons cast out of her (see Mk 16:9; Lk 8:2); she helped to fund Jesus’s ministry (see Lk 8:2); she remained with Him at the foot of the cross (see Mt 27:56; Mk 15:40; Lk 23:49; Jn 19:25); and was the first person He publicly appeared to following His Resurrection (see Jn 20:11-18). For the Eastern Fathers, this is all that we can know about Mary Magdalene.
In the West, a rather different understanding of the Magdalene began to emerge in the earliest days of the Church. Beginning with figures like Tertullian (c. 155 - 220) and gaining traction under St. Augustine (354 - 430), a near-unanimous consensus arose in Western Christianity which continued largely unchallenged right up until the twentieth century.
According to this Western perspective, “Magdalene” is simply another title for Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, whom today we tend to call Mary of Bethany. Strikingly, this Magdalene figure was also understood by the Western Church to be the sinful woman who comes to anoint the feet of the Lord in the seventh chapter of Luke’s Gospel. On this traditional Western Catholic understanding, therefore, three female New Testament characters are identified as one: Mary Magdalene, Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and the anonymous sinful woman from Luke 7.
This may sound like a bold claim, but it was the position adopted by many of the Church’s greatest saints, mystics, and doctors. To name some examples, Gregory the Great, Bede the Venerable, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, Thomas More, John Fisher, Teresa of Ávila, John of the Cross, Francis de Sales, Mary of Ágreda, Anne Catherine Emmerich, John Henry Newman, Thérèse of Lisieux, and Elizabeth of the Trinity all believed that Mary Magdalene is the same person as Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and the same person as the anonymous sinful woman in Luke 7.
Continued below.
stpaulcenter.com
Thus we know that Mary Magdalene had seven demons cast out of her (see Mk 16:9; Lk 8:2); she helped to fund Jesus’s ministry (see Lk 8:2); she remained with Him at the foot of the cross (see Mt 27:56; Mk 15:40; Lk 23:49; Jn 19:25); and was the first person He publicly appeared to following His Resurrection (see Jn 20:11-18). For the Eastern Fathers, this is all that we can know about Mary Magdalene.
In the West, a rather different understanding of the Magdalene began to emerge in the earliest days of the Church. Beginning with figures like Tertullian (c. 155 - 220) and gaining traction under St. Augustine (354 - 430), a near-unanimous consensus arose in Western Christianity which continued largely unchallenged right up until the twentieth century.
According to this Western perspective, “Magdalene” is simply another title for Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, whom today we tend to call Mary of Bethany. Strikingly, this Magdalene figure was also understood by the Western Church to be the sinful woman who comes to anoint the feet of the Lord in the seventh chapter of Luke’s Gospel. On this traditional Western Catholic understanding, therefore, three female New Testament characters are identified as one: Mary Magdalene, Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and the anonymous sinful woman from Luke 7.
This may sound like a bold claim, but it was the position adopted by many of the Church’s greatest saints, mystics, and doctors. To name some examples, Gregory the Great, Bede the Venerable, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, Thomas More, John Fisher, Teresa of Ávila, John of the Cross, Francis de Sales, Mary of Ágreda, Anne Catherine Emmerich, John Henry Newman, Thérèse of Lisieux, and Elizabeth of the Trinity all believed that Mary Magdalene is the same person as Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and the same person as the anonymous sinful woman in Luke 7.
Continued below.
Was Jesus Being Unfair to the Pharisees When He Allowed His Disciples to Eat Grain on the Sabbath?
Was Mary Magdalene a Former Prostitute?By Clement HarroldJuly 17, 2024 If anything can rightly be said about St. Mary Magdalene, it is that she remains a mysterious and oftentimes elusive figure. Over the centuries, her identity has been debated and disputed endlessly, with the result that tod
stpaulcenter.com
