Word to the Wise
Saturday, July 22, 2023 - July 22 - St. Mary Magdalene
[Cant 3:1-4b or 2 Cor 5:14-17 and John 20:1-2, 11-18,]"Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them,'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalen went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and then reported what he told her." [John]
We Dominicans have a special affection/devotion for St. Mary Magdalen because we (among many others) consider her to have been the first Christian preacher! The Eastern Church has traditionally given her the title, "Apostle to the Apostles." In today's parlance, she would certainly be considered one of Jesus' principal "groupies!" This can be seen in today's gospel scripture from the Gospel According to John where every encounter with Jesus is carefully and dramatically crafted. Earlier, in this same gospel, she is one of the three women at the foot of Jesus' cross. [John 19:25]
In one of the remarkable tapestries on the walls of the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles St. Mary Magdalen is shown standing next to St. Dominic! In my years as an itinerant preacher, I have had the privilege of preaching with some wonderful Dominican sisters on retreat teams. It seems to me that the current restrictions on pulpit preaching that keep women from preaching at Mass are counter-productive to the evangelical mission of the Church! We cannot dismiss Jesus' command to Mary Magdalen as a "one-time" thing and a special "dispensation." We are all called to be, in Pope Francis' words, "missionary disciples" by virtue of our baptism. Any bias, no matter how ancient, that excludes good preachers, male or female, should be challenged and abandoned. Mary Magdalen is watching! AMEN