Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
 Mary
Magdalene was well known as a sinner when she first saw Our Lord. She was very beautiful and very
proud, but after she met
Jesus, she felt great
sorrow for her evil life. When Jesus went to supper at the home of a rich man named Simon
(Luke 7:36-50),
Mary came to weep at His feet. Then
with her long beautiful hair, she wiped His
feet
dry and anointed them
with expensive perfume.
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Detail from Christ's Crucifixion -
by Andrea MANTEGNA,
from Musée du Louvre, Paris
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Some people were surprised that Jesus let such a sinner touch Him, but Our Lord could see into Mary's
heart, and He said: "Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved very much." Then to Mary He said kindly: "Your faith has made
you safe; go in peace". From then on, with the
other holy women, Mary
humbly served Jesus and His Apostles.
When Our
Lord was crucified,
she was there at the foot of His
Cross,
unafraid for herself, and thinking only of
His
sufferings.
No wonder Jesus
said of her: "She has loved much."
After Jesus'
Body had been placed in the tomb, Mary went to anoint it with
spices early Easter Sunday
morning. Not finding the Sacred Body, she began to
weep, and seeing someone whom she thought was the gardener,
she asked him if he knew where the Body of her beloved Master had been taken. But the person spoke in a voice she knew so well: "Mary!" It was Jesus, risen from the
dead! He had chosen to show
Himself
first to Mary Magdalene, the
repentent
sinner.
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