Mary Magdalene’s Example Shows Us the Role of Spiritual Mothers, by Michele Chronister

St. Mary Magdalene

Little is known about St. Mary Magdalene, and what we do know isn’t perfectly clear. We know from the Gospel of Luke that she had seven demons cast out of her. We know she was a follower of Jesus. But beyond that? There is a lot of conjecture. Some see her as a formerly fallen woman or prostitute, for example (although that is never clearly stated in Scripture). Others have posited that perhaps she is the same Mary as Mary of Bethany (sister to Martha and Lazarus).

All that we know of her from Scripture is this—Jesus healed her by casting out demons and she followed Him. From those few details, we can tell a great deal about her, and about the irreplaceable role of women in the Church.

The Church — More than Hierarchy …