by Fr. Tim Kelly So many words have been spent trying to place this extraordinary woman into the context of the Christian movement. Although there is some textual support for her role, there is no mention of Mary Magdalene after the appearance in the garden after the resurrection. So the remainder of her life must be either presumed or one must listen to the traditions which have grown around her name. What we do know is that this woman was a follower of Jesus and she and others supported the group out of their means. In the Western Church, she is seen to be the same person who anointed the head and feet of Jesus in Luke 7. But that association is strongly denied by the Eastern Church. By the sixth century, her reputation as a reformed prostitute was firmly established by a sermon of St Gregory the Great. The Fathers have left us a rich treasury of comments on her life and influence. Apostle of the Apostles Magdalene as the New Eve An old professor of mine in Rome, Fr. George Lawless says that whereas the Eve/Mother of God analogy is based on a contrast between obedience and disobedience, the use of Mary Magdalene as a type for Eve is based on both their roles as bringers of news. Eve brings the Devil’s message of temptation and destruction to her husband. Mary Magdalene brings the good news of salvation to the Church. Mary Magdalene announces new Life. Eve announced Death. This office as deliverer of good and bad news is used in Augustine’s third tractate on the Letters of John. “Was not the Resurrection announced by the woman to the men so that the serpent might be defeated by his own stratagem? For because that serpent first announced death to first man through a woman, life was also announced to the men through a woman.” (In Joh. Ep. 3, 2.) Through the message of Eve, all humanity is degraded. Through the message of Mary Magdalene, all humanity is uplifted. Hippolytus, a second century bishop in Rome, wrote a Commentary on the Song of Songs in which Christ is represented by the king and the Church is shown to be the Bride of Christ. In this, the most ancient Christian commentary on the Song of Songs, he portrays Mary Magdalene as the New Eve who remains un-seduced by falsehoods and then goes out to bring good News to the world. Just as the bride in the Song of Songs goes out to search for her lover, asking the watchmen if they have seen him, so too Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb, and finding it empty, she is not finished her seeking. Hippolytus interprets Sg 3, 4 as a pre-figuration of the reaction of Magdalene to the appearance of Jesus. She tries to cling to him so that he will stay with her. In Sermon 25, 6 Gregory the Great compares Mary Magdalene to Eve. Mary brings the good news of salvation to the disciples and thus she becomes the Apostle to the Apostles. Eve had brought the evil tidings of Satan to her husband. Mary Magdalene came and made known to his disciples, 'I have seen the Lord, and he said these things to me.' See, how the sin of the human race was removed where it began. In paradise a woman was the cause of death for a man; coming from the sepulchre a woman proclaimed life to men. Mary related the words of the one who restored her to life; Eve had related the words of the serpent who brought death. It is as if the Lord was telling the human race, not by words but by actions, 'Receive the draught of life from the hand of the one who offered you the drink of death.' I have completed this concise explanation of the Gospel.
St. Augustine places great store by the fact that she was the very first to see the Risen Lord Jesus. He calls he ‘apostola apostolorum’. She is the one chosen to bring the Good news to the gathered Apostles. In a sermon on Psalm 68, he says “Surely his disciples did grieve with him when he was led out to his Passion, when he was hanged on a tree, when he died? So deeply did they grieve that Mary Magdalene, who was first to see him arisen, ran joyfully to announce what she had seen to men who were mourning. It is the Gospel that tells us so: this is no assumption on our part, or conjecture.”(Enerr In Ps 68 s 2, 5 )
Woman of faith
Augustine also says that Mary Magdalene the first one to have faith in the Resurrection. The two disciples, Peter and the beloved disciple walked into the empty tomb but did not believe that Christ had risen. Mary Magdalene, on the other hand remains behind when they depart and waits for Jesus. “Notice what a difference there is between Saint Mary Magdalene, who as soon as she heard “Mary”, at that one word from Christ believed he had risen - so between her faith and that of the two men who, as soon as they saw Christ in the breaking of bread, immediately believed, what do we suppose is the difference? What can it be? She saw him, it would seem, in the half light of dawn, they saw him in broad daylight; yet both they and she believed on seeing.” Sermon 375C, 3.
There is a very ancient tradition of portraying Mary, the mother of God as the New Eve. This began in the sub-apostolic times (end of the first century) within the writings of Justin Martyr. But there has also been a lesser-known tradition that Mary Magdalene is the new Eve.
“Shortly after I had passed them by,
I found him whom my soul loves.
I held him and I would not let him go,
until I had brought him into the chamber of my mother’s house.” (Song of Songs 3, 4)