On July 22nd, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, a woman who was all-in for Jesus.
I, too, have a tendency to be an all-or-nothing person. If I’m traveling, I want to see it all. If I’m studying, I want to ace the test. I’m either in, or I’m out.
I think that’s why St. Mary Magdalene and I get along. She, like myself, did not naturally live in the in-between.
Many theologians have said that Mary Magdalene, previous to encountering the person of Jesus, was living a life “all-in” for the world and its temptations. In Luke 8, we learn that when she met Jesus, he drove out seven devils from her. St. Gregory the Great, a sixth-century pope, believed this verse signified Mary was filled with the totality of vices prior to her encounter with Jesus.
But when she encounters Christ, she cannot go back. She follows him, and she follows him until the end.
In John 19, we see Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross. When all the disciples but John abandon him, she remains. She stays as he is taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb.
In John 20, we see Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb. She couldn’t help but come to the tomb, even while it was still dark.
I imagine her restless in sleep that night, wrestling with what she had seen at the Passion, antsy to be near Jesus again. I imagine her, sleepless, waiting for the morning to come. And then I imagine her finally making the decision to get up to go to him, even before dawn.
Mary Magdalene was not spared the sorrow of the Passion. But, she was not spared the joy of the resurrection either.
Later on in John 20, we hear Mary Magdalene greeted by none other than Jesus himself. At first glance, she believes him to be the gardener, but when he speaks her name, her eyes are opened to see that she is face-to-face with the risen Lord.
We know that all Mary wanted to do at that moment was to stay with him, as we hear Jesus tell her, “Stop holding onto me.”
But he then gives her a mission — to share the news that he is risen with the disciples.
So, she goes and tells them, “I have seen the Lord!,” beginning the revolution of Christianity. She becomes the first witness to proclaim the news of the Gospel to the world. In the liturgy on her feast, the Church refers to her as the “Apostle to the Apostles,” recognizing her pivotal role in the story of the resurrection.
There has never been a message so important in the history of the world. Jesus could have appeared to anyone. And the message would have likely been given more credibility if spoken from the mouth of a well-respected leader, or, at the very least, a man, given the negative view of women in this historical period.
But I like to think that Mary’s perseverance and fidelity — her deep desire to be close to him, even in the Passion — moved Jesus’ heart to choose her for the privileged task.
In Revelation 3:15-16, God says, “I know that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
Maybe his heart was moved by the heart that had never been lukewarm — for the woman who was “all-in.”
The faithful might not easily see themselves in the saintly portraits of Mary Magdalene. But we are all called to live “all-in” lives, not too different from this woman from Magdala.
We too are called to sit at our Lord’s feet, to learn from the master. We too are called to stay with him at the foot of the cross.
And, like her, we are called to make him known. To get up when he calls us, leaving the sweet safety of consolation in prayer to move towards the trenches of mission.
Like Mary Magdalene, we will likely encounter sorrow and the face of suffering. But we are also promised the hope of joy.
What does the face of Mary Magdalene look like today?
It looks like the person sitting with the Lord in the Eucharistic adoration chapel.
It looks like the mother, who leaves her time of prayer to attend to the needs of her children.
It looks like the professional, who mentions he went to Sunday Mass when their coworker asks about their weekend, planting a seed for a conversation about our faith.
If we want to be like Mary Magdalene, we need only to ask the Lord: “How are you calling me to be ‘all-in?’ How are you calling me to stay with you? How are you calling me to go on mission?”
Like the “Apostle to the Apostles,” we must give God the things most precious to us — our time and our very selves.
Then, like Mary Magdalene, we will be known as those who “have seen the Lord!”
Olivia Castlen is a reporter for The Record and a member of St. Louis Bertrand Church.
