The Apostle of the Apostles

Today is the Feastday of a great Saint, Mary Magdalene. She was indeed a disciple of Jesus and an eyewitness to His crucifixion. On the morning of the Resurrection, she was the first to see the Risen Jesus. Pope Benedict XVI writes of Mary Magdalene in his book Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church:

"the women, unlike the Twelve, did not abandon Jesus in the hour of His Passion. Among them, Mary Magdalene stands out in particular. Not only was she present at the Passion, but she was the first witness and herald of the Risen One. It was precisely to Mary Magdalene that St. Thomas Aquinas reserved the special title, Apostle of the Apostles, dedicating to her this beautiful comment: Just as a woman had announced the words of death to the first man, so also a woman was the first to announce to the Apostles the words of life."

Then we have Pope St. Gregory the Great, writing between 590-605 A.D. who said: "we should reflect on Mary's attitude and the great love she felt for Christ." He continues, "at first she sought but did not find, but when she persevered it happened that she found what she was looking for." Then finally St. Gregory concludes, "Jesus is not recognized when he calls her woman; so He calls her by name, as though He were saying: recognize me as I recognize you; for I do not know you as I know others; I know you as yourself. And so Mary, once addressed by name, recognizes who is speaking. She immediately calls Him rabboni, that is to say teacher, because the one whom she sought outwardly was the one who inwardly taught her to keep on searching."

From today's office of readings: How blessed is she who was worthy to be the first to proclaim that the Lord had truly risen.

St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us!