Mary Magdalene: woman, contemplative, apostle
Starting now, the memory of St. Mary Magdalene is raised to the level of celebration, by expressed wish of Pope Francis. Sr Marie Gemma, Carmelite prioress in Baroda, explains the value of this saint, the first who announced the resurrection, a sign of the greatness of the feminine genius.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Starting this year, by expressed wish of Pope Francis, the Vatican congregation for divine worship has decided that the memory of Mary Magdalene should be celebrated as a feast. This way the genius of women in the Church can be given more importance.
Mary Magdalene was among the first to receive the mercy of Jesus and was the first to announce the resurrection. Sr Gemma Marie, prioress of the Carmelite monastery of Baroda (Gujarat) offers her reflection.
Could it be a contradiction to ask what this new development would mean to a cloistered contemplative since Mary Magdalene went rushing out to meet Jesus?
It certainly would not because primarily a contemplative is one who having experienced God becomes a medium that communicates God to every person she meets. It is only a contemplative heart who would go rushing out in the thickest dark just before dawn to embalm the body of the One with whom she was connected with Love-bonds that nothing could sever.
Here I am reminded of an image that St. Teresa of Avila gives in her book the “Interior Castle.” It is the image of the silkworm. Speaking of the deep union of love that is effected in the soul she says it is indeed a death to self and a birth into the likeness of Christ. The silkworm spins its own cocoon in which it is to die, only to emerge as a bright and beautiful butterfly. So God himself becomes the house in which the soul dies, entering into the darkness of Christ’s own suffering and death, to be transformed into the new life of the spirit. This transformation brings with it the impetus to serve, to move ever deeply into the world of the spirit and to share in the redemptive love of the Saviour. The annihilation of the cross releases the power of the resurrection.
St. Mary Magdalene truly experienced this when she dared to stand at the foot of the Cross. This partaking of His death enabled her to be drawn by love to the tomb where she met Him. She experienced the power of knowing that HE, her love is Life; that He is God leading her to a new relationship, ‘Do not cling to me for I have not yet ascended to my God and your God, to my Father and your Father.’ Transformed herself she became the medium, the apostle to the apostles.
Only a contemplative could do this – be it a contemplative in the world or a contemplative in a cloister. A true contemplative is passionate, daring, tenacious, open to being drawn by love always, and ever going out of herself.
And so this raising of the memoria of St. Mary Magdalene to the ranks of a feast is the exaltation of the conviction that one is loved by Him no matter what. It is the exaltation of being contemplative, it is the exaltation of being a woman with the dignity given her by the One who created, saved and beautifies her to be the eternal Bride.
We feel delighted and proud that Holy Father is able to perceive the wonderful gifts that are the legacy of every woman.
.png)
