St. Mary Magdalene

It would be possible to write volumes about St. Mary Magdalene. However, I am writing this late at night, at the end of a long, hot day, and so will be quite brief (thankfully I hear you say ;-)).

Tradition holds that Mary was a prostitute, but it is evident that she was not someone driven to selling herself out of desparation, duress or poverty. Rather, she appears to have been what today we might euphemistically call a 'good time girl', using her body to gain wealth, attention, extravagant  gifts (how did she come to have that jar of fantastically expensive scented oil?), possibly even a sort of celebrity through notoriety.

We see so much of this in our society - the most obvious example must be the 'Belle de Jour' who hit the media a few years ago, but also the small army of singers, actresses and others who flaunt themselves with the seemingly single objective of causing shock and outrage.

Of course, they are all convinced they are in control, having a good time, and so on, but really they gain a low reputation and are seen for what they really are.

Mary, of course, had the great fortune to encounter Our Lord, and to experience the true and unconditonal Love of God to the extent that she realised her own wretchedness and made dramatic statement of penitence, anointing Christ's feet with oil and tears, drying them with her hair, then subequently watching Him die, witnessing to her conversion, and ultimately being rewarded by being one of the first to see Him risen.

 

 

A happy feast to everyone, especially Fr. Ray Blake and his parishioners in Brighton, on the occasion of their patronal feast.