Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher
July 22, 2021
Mass at 8:00 AM
ST. MARY MAGDALENE – APOSTLE TO THE APOSTLES
Mary Magdalene has the privilege of being the first to see the empty tomb and the first to hear of Christ’s Resurrection. She stood with the Blessed Mother and the Beloved Disciple, John, at the foot of the Cross. For us, she is an example of great love and great forgiveness.
In the announcement of the decree published 3 June 2016, when the celebration of St. Mary Magdalene was elevated to a Solemnity, Archbishop Arthur Roche, Secretary for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, wrote:
When Christ says to Mary Magdalene, ‘Noli me tangere’ – he is saying to her and to all the Church – enter an experience of faith that overcomes any materialistic appropriation or human understanding of the divine mystery. It has an ecclesial importance! It is a good lesson for every disciple of Jesus: do not seek human securities and worldly honors, but faith in the Living and Risen Christ.
Each year, the Franciscan Custody celebrates this Solemnity in the Holy Sepulchre, near the site that by tradition marks this encounter between the Risen Lord and Mary Magdalene.
The Solemnity is also celebrated in Magdala, the hometown of Mary Magdalene on the Sea of Galilee. Through their center, Duc In Altum, and the Magdalena Institute, the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi seek to “highlight issues of human dignity – with an emphasis on the dignity of women – and contributions of the feminine genius in both religious history and facets of life today.”
Mary Magdalene holds a place of honor in the Orthodox Church, where she is called the Holy Myrrh-Bearer Equal of the Apostles. The Apostles proclaimed Christ’s Resurrection to the whole world, but Mary Magdalene proclaimed it to the Apostles themselves. Her Feast is commemorated on 22 July, and she is also remembered on the Sunday of Myrrh-bearing Women.
Photo © Jerzy Kraj/CTS
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References
Mary Magdalene. Magdala Tourist Center. Retrieved June 14, 2021, from https://www.magdala.org/mary-magdalene/
Mary Magdalene, apostle of the apostles. (2016, June 10). Bulletin - Holy See Press Office. https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2016/06/10/160610c.html
Myrrhbearer and Equal of the Apostles Mary Magdalene. (2001, July 22). Orthodox Church in America. https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2001/07/22/102070-myrrhbearer-and-equal-of-the-apostles-mary-magdalene
