by Donald R. Fantz

Since the early days of the Church, Catholics have been fascinated by the story of the conversion of Mary Magdalen. Religious orders have been named for her. Music has been composed in her honor. Exquisite statues have been dedicated to her. The world's great artists have depicted her at the feet of Jesus, bathing His feet with her contrite tears, or at the foot of the Cross, giving comfort to the Blessed Virgin and her Divine Son.

Who is this woman of whom we know only a few details? Historians in the past have had difficulty in trying to reconcile the personality sketches portrayed by the Gospel writers of the mystical Mary of Bethany, Mary the impassioned penitent, and the generous Mary of Magdala, who provided for Jesus and His Apostles out of her means. However, if we meditate carefully on the life of Christ and on the qualities He influenced in others, we will find it easy to agree with Saint Gregory the Great that all these traits were blended into one magnificent woman whom Christ loved deeply. It is appropriate that we should recount her life in this column; her feast is observed on the twenty-second of this month and she did much to aid the early Church by her actions and prayers. If we read the Divine Office and the Mass for her feast, we see that through the centuries the Church has upheld her life for its examples of charity, forthrightness, humility, and perseverance in grace. Without doubt, she is one of those who deserve the title "great."

The degree of sanctity of anyone depends upon the conformity of that person's will to the Will of God. In this instance, we have a Saint who knew Our Lord, not only through grace, but in His human condition as well. We should study her life prayerfully so that we can obtain a closer perspective of the Divine Master.

Let us travel in spirit to that dusty street where a violent crowd is cursing and stoning an attractive girl who had been taken in adultery. Christ enters the street and calms the crowd. He begins to advise each of the antagonists to continue, as long as such a one sees nothing of sin in himself. Quietly, Jesus kneels and begins to write. Names of the accusers and their sins take shape as His finger traces deeply into the hot sand. One by one the stones drop. The people depart, leaving the woman alone with her God. "Where are they that accuse thee?" He asks. "They are gone, Lord." "Then neither do I accuse thee. Go in peace and sin no more." Thus began the conversion of this spoiled, willful girl. Saint Mark tells us that Jesus cast seven devils out of Mary Magdalen.

The next meeting of Jesus with Mary Magdalen is mentioned to us by Saint Luke. Jesus was dining in the home of Simon the Pharisee "and behold a woman that was in the city, a sinner, when she knew that He sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment; And standing behind at His feet, she began to wash His feet, with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. And the Pharisee, who had invited him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying: 'This man, if he were a prophet, would know surely who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, that she is a sinner.' And Jesus answering, said to him: 'Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee.' But he said: 'Master, say it.' 'A certain creditor had two debtors, the one who owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And whereas they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which therefore of the two loveth him most?' Simon answering, said: 'I suppose that he to whom he forgave most.' And he said to him: Thou hast judged rightly.' And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon: 'Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she with tears hath washed my feet, and with her hairs hath wiped them. [45] Thou gavest me no kiss; but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but she with ointment hath anointed My feet. Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less.' And He said to her: 'Thy sins are forgiven thee.' . . . And He said to the woman: 'Thy faith hath made thee safe, go in peace.' "

On another occasion, just before His death, Mary once again anointed Jesus, to the consternation of Judas Iscariot. Jesus upbraided Judas, saying that Mary was giving Him the anointing He would not receive at the time of His burial.

The Gospels speak eloquently of the love of Jesus for Mary's soul and of the adoration with which Mary worshipped Him whom she knew to be the Messias. Because of her own simplicity of heart, she was able to recognize Him who is simplicity itself. Beyond the affection she had for the Man Jesus, she saw the majesty of her Creator, the authority of her Judge, and the mercy of her Redeemer. No petty relationship was this, such as the inane "affair" presented in so many of today's travesties which pass for movies, books, and plays. In one of these Mary is caught in a dilemma expressed in the infamous song, "I Don't Know How to Love Him." We should pity those who read into the mutual love of Christ and Magdalen something of a mundane quality. It is unthinkable sacrilege to intimate that the God-Man, who has inspired millions of Christian men and women throughout the ages to heroic sacrifices, including martyrdom, would be a source of carnal temptation! What a crime to allow our young people to be perverted by such plays as Superstar. May the saintly Magdalen help them to see their errors and to recognize in Him the Way, the Truth, and the Life, which they desperately seek.

From the time of her turning to Christ, Mary Magdalen never once doubted that He had forgiven her, and from that memorable day she lived entirely for Him. She dedicated her every activity to the spreading of His truths to others. She and her friends gave of their earnings to the support of Christ and the Apostles. Mary and her sister, Martha, often entertained Jesus and the Apostles in their home. We are informed by Saint Luke that it was the energetic Mary who preferred to sit quietly at Our Lord's feet listening to the words of light and life while Martha served the table. Their brother, Lazarus, became one of Our Lord's closest friends. Evidently the three were on rather intimate terms with Christ, as they were given to respectful chiding of their Divine Friend. The beautiful account of the death and resurrection of Lazarus relates that Jesus was so affected by Lazarus' death that He wept.

He then told the mourners around the tomb that He Himself was the resurrection and the life and that everyone who would believe in Him would live forever. He looked at Martha and asked, "Believest thou this?" Martha answered for her family, "Yea, Lord, I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

What happy times these friends had together! Mary must have felt especially privileged. First, she had received the forgiveness of her sins; then, she was invited to follow Him, not from a distance, but raised to the level of a close friend. She enjoyed His company in her own home. She conversed with Him, listened to the divine sense of humor, to the many parables, some of which found their way into Sacred Scripture. Certainly, in all this, we can see the pattern of Christ's dealing with each soul. There is no shameful condition or sin which He will not cure. He not only permits, but actually encourages each of us to follow Him, not from afar, but like Magdalen, in intimate communion with Him.

How did Mary Magdalen gain such a familiarity with our Divine Lord? Let us look ahead a little in time to the foot of the Cross. Whom do we find standing there bereaving the dying Saviour? Magdalen, with the Mother of God. It was true then, as now, that those who wish to draw close to Jesus Christ must do so through the help of His mother. Magdalen collaborated with the Blessed Virgin. She travelled with her as she accompanied her Son on His journeys. The "other Mary," as Saint John called her, was received warmly by Christ's mother. From their daily life together Magdalen learned the means of advancing from virtue to virtue. Through the Blessed Mother's counsel she saw clearly the beauty of the Old Testament quotation: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." Even though she never forgot that she had once lived in sin, now after her conversion her former sins served rather to point out more clearly the goodness of God and the beauty of a penitential life. Each day she would sing the praises of the One who had rescued her from the satanic prison of hateful self-love, which had dominated her previous life. She now grew so in Christ that she could concur with Saint Paul: "I live now, not I, but Christ liveth in me." All those around her rejoiced with her because she had found her treasure—the priceless gift of eternal salvation.

Nevertheless, as for every soul, so for Mary Magdalen, to be completely united to Christ as He willed, it was necessary for her to taste the awful Passion He suffered. She had sensed it coming in His references to the cup He must drink. She saw angry crowds of Pharisees gather around Him to taunt Him. Finally, we can imagine her grief on that first Good Friday morning, as she saw the once-beautiful Jesus standing on Pilate's balcony. She was shocked to see His body torn with wounds and covered with blood. It was then that she realized fully that Christ's kingdom would be won through the bitterness of betrayal and abandonment; that the very symbol of His kingdom would be woven of jagged thorns; that its throne would be fashioned of splintered timber. She heard the crowd roar: "Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Let His Blood be on us and on our children!" She watched Him stumble His way through the jeering mob up to the mountain. She saw Him console those who tried to console Him. She listened to Him speak to the daughters of Jerusalem of the days when the world would call a woman "blessed" who refused to give birth to new life. She stood next to His mother when those two met on the road to Calvary. She witnessed the soldiers pounding the nails into each limb. She saw the Cross dumped into the ground and heard the thud as it stopped short, sending shock waves through the body of her Master. She listened to the seven last words, which even now are heard by every man who will heed them. She understood at last what her puny sins had done to One who had lived for this day to come. She looked up and saw His outstretched arms aching to embrace every soul born into this world—and she wept. She wept for her own sins. She wept for the sins of everyone who would add to the sufferings of Christ. If ever there was an hour which was her finest, this was it. She watched His friends leave, yet not once did it occur to her to leave. Even when the Apostles left, she stayed with Jesus and Mary. She stood by the Cross. She watched Him die and she helped His mother bury Him.

Just as she shared in His sufferings, so did she share in His triumph. It was to Mary Magdalen that Christ appeared after His resurrection. It was to her that He relayed His first instructions to the Apostles. Her ecstasy at finding the Risen Christ can be measured only by the depth of her earlier suffering. Now all sadness disappeared. All tears were wiped away. In every Easter Mass the Church would commemorate her joy in the hauntingly beautiful sequence, Victimae Paschalae. Now for forty days she was able to have a foretaste of that heavenly beatitude, which as Saint Paul says, "no man shall take away from you." Then, on Ascension Thursday, as she watched Him return to the abode which He and His Father had prepared, she was encouraged by the words of the attending angels. She would not be idle. She spent her remaining years with the Blessed Virgin and did all that she could to spread the teachings of Our Lord to those around her in the city of Ephesus. It is said by some that she travelled to southern France and was responsible for the conversion of many in Provence.

May the life of Saint Mary Magdalen be a source of hope to those who find themselves surrounded by the gloom and pessimism of sin. Through her intercession may we all lay hold of the joy and peace which comes from a true conversion to Jesus Christ.