It is an undeniable fact that the woman, for the first time in her history, found praise from our Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from Our Lady, who was the only vessel of divine grace, a multitude of holy women were close to the Lord, throughout His presence on earth, who served Him and supported Him in His saving work. One of them was Mary Magdalene, the fragrant and co-apostle, His most devoted disciple.
He was from the city Magdala, which was in her area Galilee on the western shore of the lake Tiberias, and for this she took the nickname Magdalene. Her parents were rich, noble and pious Jews, they were called Syros and Eucharist. They raised Maria in piety and fear of God. They made sure to give her a serious education, as her biographer mentions Kallistos Xanthopoulos. He studied the Old Testament and was immersed in the prophecies about the Messiah. After the death of her parents she refused to marry and devoted herself to prayer and the study of the Scriptures. At the same time, he practiced charity. She distributed her great wealth to the poor and lived herself with fasting, virginity and temperance.
The half-hearted devil envied the modest and faithful Mary and wanted to destroy her. Sent seven terrible demons to understand her. Here we should clarify that in the pre-Christian era, when there was no Holy Baptism and the other Holy Mysteries of our Church, as powerful elixirs against demonic forces, people, even the righteous, could be possessed by demons. This is what happened to Maria.
Our Lord Jesus Christ once passed through her area. Mary, in spite of all the horrible troubles caused by the unclean spirits, ran to hear the famous rabbi, who was followed by crowds and captivated by His unprecedented preaching. Christ recognized her good soul as God and the role she would play in His work. He healed her, casting out the demons (Luke 8,1:3-XNUMX) and out of gratitude she joined the group of His disciples with all the strength of her soul. She recognized in His face the expected Messiah and for this reason she was His most devoted disciple. Along with the other students (Susana, Mary the mother of James, Mary of Clopas, Joanna of Huza, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, etc.) they served the Lord and the apostles.
Some want to identify her with the sinful woman, who kissed the feet of Jesus, shortly before His passion (Luke 7,36-50). This is not correct, because the holy evangelist mentions the sinful woman anonymously. Heretical Western Christianity created this myth in the Dark Ages.
Mary listened attentively to the words of the Lord and saw with admiration His miracles. All this led her to the certainty that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of God, prophesied by the prophets of the Old Testament. He compared what he had read in the ancient Scriptures with what he heard and saw, and formed the conviction that he was living in the blessed messianic age. She allocated her remaining property to the work of the Lord and herself ministered manually.
She was connected with fraternal friendship, not only with the other disciples of Christ, but also with the Theotokos, whom they respected and regarded as the Mother of God. During the saving passion of the Lord, he showed incredible devotion and heroism. From
on the night of the betrayal until His entombment He was not removed from Him, but together with the Mother of God they sowed from pain and agony. While His male disciples scattered and hid themselves so that they would not be arrested, that they would not be considered accomplices of Jesus and suffer the same as Him, His holy female disciples, together with the Virgin Mary, stood aside at Calvary and mournfully watched the Divine Passion (Matthew 27,55:56-19,25). Mary Magdalene, together with the Mother of God and Mary the Thief, stood under the cross (John XNUMX) and gave courage to the Mother of the Lord. They experienced the whole Divine Drama!
During the Deposition, together with Joseph and Nicodemus, with lamentations and sorrows they smelled the Immaculate Body of the Lord and buried it. But, as the holy Evangelists report, because of the approaching Easter holiday, the burial was hurried and the Body of Christ was not smelled sufficiently. That is why His devoted female disciples decided to transfer "one of the Saturdays anyway" to the monument of their Master to anoint His immaculate Body with precious myrrh. Mary Magdalene is with them. But there the great miracle awaited them. They were informed by the angel of the resurrection of the Lord. These heroic women deserved to be the first to learn the supreme fact of the resurrection. Mary Magdalene had the supreme blessing of being the first to see, together with the Mother of God, the risen Lord, whom she initially assumed as a gardener.
After that there is no sufficient evidence about the life and activity of Saint Mary. We speculate that he became one of the influential members of the Jerusalem Church. Traditions that he went to the West and died in Marseille they are papal fables, which lack sources. The theory that she was the wife of Jesus is also blasphemous. Pious tradition states that, after the Virgin fell asleep, he followed him Evangelist John in Ephesus, where he fervently preached the Gospel and slept peacefully. Her honest hand is indestructible and with the properties of a living body (flexibility, temperature, etc.) in Holy Monastery of Simon Petras of Mount Athoss. Her memory is honored on July 22.
photo https://www.saint.gr/734/saint.aspx,
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