Festival of Mary Magdalene 22 July

Her reputation has been so tarnished by speculation and false connections, but for me Mary Magdalene, whose festival is today, is an inspiration.

Mary Magdalene is a role model of faithful discipleship. She stuck with Jesus when things got unimaginably tough. With other women she witnessed Jesus' crucifixion when other disciples had run away.

Mary Magdalene is a role model for Christian witness. After she met the risen Jesus she told others what she’d seen and heard. When a woman’s evidence was seen as dubious, how odd that God chose a woman to tell such news and bring such hope! You can find the account of how Mary Magdalene met Jesus in the garden after the resurrection in Easter Sunday 2015.

Postscript: I've just read a helpful reflection by 'Digitalnun' which draws together the threads of Mary Magdalene's bad reputation and her role as a good example of discipleship. In reference to Mary's encounter with Jesus in the garden (John 20) she ends with these words:
"...that glimpse of Mary searching in the garden and seeing the Lord through a mist of tears is surely a reminder that love, and love alone, is the measure by which our witness to Truth will be judged."
You can read the whole post 'Witnessing to Truth: the example of Mary Magdalene' on the iBenedictines site - well worth a few minutes of your time to go there.


Almighty God,
whose Son restored Mary Magdalene
to health of mind and body
and called her to be a witness to his resurrection:
forgive our sins and heal us by your grace,
that we may serve you in the power of his risen life;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.


Common Worship Collect for Festival of Mary Magdalene




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