In a prayer attributed to St. Brigid, she lists her deepest desires in a series of statements, all beginning with”I would like…” (found here in the footnotes) I want to spend a great deal of time this week exploring this prayer, but I’m going to start today by focusing on one line: “I would like the three Marys of illustrious renown to be with us.”
Of course, my first question was, who are these three Marys? I assumed that one must be the Blessed Mother and another is probably Mary Magdalene, but I wasn’t as sure about the third. I wondered if it would be the three women who were at the foot of the cross. After a little investigating, it seems I am on the right track. The three women to whom Brigid was referring are mentioned in John’s Gospel, “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.” (John 19:25)
I have thought about these women a lot. It’s hard to imagine how awful it must have been to witness a crucifixion at all, much less when it is someone you love. In my mind, these women were standing in for all of us, showing the faith in Jesus that we are all expected to show.
I still remember an idea from a catechism class that I took more than a decade ago. We were talking about the Church in general, and Father said, “We are a people at the foot of the cross.” I have been carrying that image with me ever since, and it certainly leads me to see the Three Marys differently. How appropriate that the female patron saint of the land of my ancestors – well, the ancestors on my dad’s side – was also drawn to these women.
I think we have all considered the Blessed Mother, and we understand that she would be there. We know very little about her sister, including how exactly she has a sister or if it really is her sister. As I understand it, the translation from Hebrew to Greek to so many other languages makes the familial relationships difficult to discern. So many words had multiple meanings, that we aren’t entirely certain this second Mary was really Jesus’ aunt, although it seems likely that she was some kind of female family member.
But then we have Mary Magdalene. Those of you who have been with me since I started this journey are aware that I started my blog with a look at Mary Magdalene. I still don’t know, really, what guided me to start with her. Before I started thinking about studying female saints, I never thought about Mary Magdalene any more than any other person from the Bible. Yet, as I began developing this idea, I was passionately certain that I needed to begin my journey with her.
Considering all I have learned over the past 15 weeks, I am surprised how much Mary Magdalene still means to me. Although I can’t exactly describe it, I think she is possibly the ultimate model for Christian women. I don’t believe that she was the reformed prostitute that we were all taught to believe for so many years, even though Pope Gregory thought so in the 6th century. But Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis don’t seem to agree, and a careful reading of Sacred Scripture just doesn’t seem to bear it out.
I do believe she was an important Apostle, but she might have been overlooked because of the patriarchal society in which Jesus spent his time on earth. Jesus, however, was not of that time. He is of all time, and so His perspective is not limited by the society in which He spent His earthly life. He understood the mentality of the people with whom he interacted, and He understood what to say so they would receive His message.
But I wonder if He also made sure that Mary Magdalene was included in the events of Scripture just enough that we might, 2,000+ years later, realize how important she was. After all, as I stressed in week one, He chose Mary Magdalene to be the first person he would visit as the Resurrected Lord. What does that mean?
It has been almost 4 months since I began writing about our female role models in the faith, and this idea is still lighting a fire in my soul. Again, it is difficult to put into words, but I am sure I am being guided to Mary Magdalene for a reason. I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone else, but I have never been so sure of anything before.
I also don’t know if I have completely figured out why I am drawn to her. But here we are studying St. Brigid, who I have been thinking about for weeks but didn’t really study until now, for some reason. I have always had a sense of trying to let the Lord guide me to the saints I would study. Is there something important about this timing? And why am I not completely surprised that this saint, to whom I relate so much because of our shared heritage, has led me back to Mary Magdalene – to the saint who inspired me so much as I was beginning this journey.
Dear Lord, thank you for this amazing journey You have laid before me. Thank you for the people You have drawn to join me by reading my daily posts. Please help us to grow together to find the path You have laid out for us. Please guide us to discover the messages that You want us to find. Mostly Jesus, please help us to develop that close friendship with You that Mary Magdalene enjoyed, and that so many other saints seem to have shared.