A People of St. Mary Magdalene

Today is the Solemnity of St. Mary Magdalene, the patroness of our Cathedral Church, the Choir School and our Diocese. The first two thousand years of church history have been tough on Mary of Magdala. Confusion about who she is, her role in the life of the early church, the great devotion to her as a model penitent and the importance she holds for the Catholics in certain regions of France has led one author to despair at what is "a muddle of 'Marys'". And yet, if we return to the Biblical account of her life, clearing away the murky attributions of questionable history - even in modern times - we can draw very certain inspiration from this early friend and follower of Jesus of Nazareth.

The muddle begins on the 21st of September in 591 when Pope Gregory the Great preached a homily in the Church of St. Clement in Rome that solidifies growing confusion about Mary Magdalene. The text he is preaching on is Luke 7:36 – 50, the account of the unnamed female sinner, who, in the home of Simon the Pharisee, knelt at Jesus’ feet, washing them with her tears, and drying his feet with her hair, and anointing them with perfumed oils. Gregory proclaims “…We believe that this woman whom Luke calls a female sinner, whom John calls Mary, is the same Mary from whom Mark says seven demons were cast out.” In one fell swoop, Gregory collapses into one individual three distinct women encountered in the Gospels: 1)The unnamed female sinner, 2)Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus, and 3) Mary of Magdala, from whom seven demons were cast out according to this passage from St. Luke.

There is much more to the story! However, in clearing away the attritions of centuries we can focus on a few events in her life that serve as inspiration to us who are the people of St. Mary Magdalene.

First, we are called to perseverance at the Cross of Christ. We know without doubt that Mary Magdalene was present in those horrific hours of humiliation, unimaginable suffering and ultimate death. Many other followers of Jesus had left him in these final hours, consumed with fear, cowardice, and uncertainty about his abruptly ended years of ministry. Unlike the others, Mary Magdalene remained there, sharing in the disgrace, shame and pain. In the Apse of our cathedral, she is seen with outstretched arms beneath our crucified and suffering Lord.

Where then is the Cross that you and I are called to stand by with Mary Magdalene today? Certainly it is in the lives of family and friends who suffer in body, mind or spirit; powerfully it is found in the lives of the poor, the hungry, the thirsty and homeless, immigrants and strangers to our land, refugees, and prisoners; painfully it is present in the victims of war and injustice, especially the innocent who suffer in Afghanistan, Palestine and Syria this very day; regrettably it shamefully appears in the lives of the elderly who are lonely and discouraged, sometimes warehoused in awful places of care, and in the millions of orphans abandoned and alone in sub-Saharan Africa because of the scourge of AIDS.

As the people of St. Mary Magdalene, we of this parish community are called to stand by those who starkly encounter the Cross of Christ. The Good Samaritan Program, Catholic Community Services of Utah, and Catholic Relief Services are just a few ways we can stand by the Cross – there are many others. But we must leave today, having celebrated this feast, with a commitment to new action and change.

Secondly, we are called to be enthusiastic witnesses to the risen life of Christ. We can be absolutely certain that Mary Magdalene was granted the ‘paschal privilege’ of being the first to bring this incredible and earth-shattering news: Jesus Christ has triumphed over sin and death, and offers humanity its true hope, purpose and ultimate aspiration. The great Eastern Nave window of this Cathedral strikingly depicts this scene. From our patroness, the Apostle to the Apostles, you and I are invited to share with great zeal the triumph of life over death, and the gravely misunderstood truth that human life is not obtained by taking, consuming or possessing, but rather, human life is correctly lived in patterns of giving, offering, and surrendering.

This news is extremely counter to the constant message of our culture. We think we need the new expensive automobile, the extravagant home, the expensive clothing, and the massing of ‘things and toys’ in order to feel alive, and yet, Pope John Paul II rightly described this obsession as symptomatic of a ‘culture of death,’ and a road of vanity and self-absorption that is truly meaningless and inhuman.

Unlike one hundred years ago, the Catholic Church in the United States is now the largest, most well educated and wealthiest of any other Christian denomination. We have more members of Congress and Justices on the Supreme Court than any other religious group. But are we leading, and using the incredible gifts that God has given us for the advancement of his Kingdom? Like Mary Magdalene’s ‘paschal privilege,’ you and I have been giving a great privilege today. As advocates of the true purpose and meaning of this life, we in this community should witness to the power of the resurrection in our lives, leaving the cathedral today with greater resolve about our life of prayer and friendship with the Lord, our love for all others regardless of race, creed or situation in life, and a greater concern for God’s Kingdom rather than our own Kingdom.

We are blessed to be the People of St. Mary Magdalene, and our sister and patroness now calls us to be the faithful friends of Jesus in this hour, this place, and in the year ahead. By her prayers and the grace of God, may the people who worship and serve in this Cathedral Church be widely and extensively known for their perseverance by the Cross of our suffering Savior, and recognized in this community for their enthusiastic joy and commitment for the Kingdom of the risen and triumphant Lord.