Holy Eucharist for St. Mary Magdalene's Day

Tuesday, July 22, 2025, 12:00 PM

Join us to commemorate this feast day with a simple Holy Eucharist in the church at 12:00 p.m. All are welcome.

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Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' closest disciples. According to Luke 8:2, Jesus had healed her of demon possession. She became one of a group of women, apparently of some means, who helped provide for Jesus in his travels (Mark 15:40).

Mary was a witness to the crucifixion, remaining behind when most of Jesus' disciples had fled (Mark 15:40; John 19:25). More important still, she became a witness to the resurrection when she and some other women went to Jesus' tomb early in the morning on the third day after his execution and found the tomb empty. According to John 20, Jesus appeared personally to her shortly afterward. Mary thus became the first person to carry the good news of the resurrection to the other followers of Jesus. She is traditionally known as the "Apostle to the Apostles."

Later legends identifying Mary as a former prostitute have no basis in scripture, but are the result of a misidentification of her with the unnamed "sinful woman" in Luke 7:36-50. Nor is there much basis for the legend, popularized in the novel The Da Vinci Code, that she was Jesus' lover or spouse. However, several early Christian texts do suggest that she had a close relationship with Jesus and an important status within the earliest group of Jesus' followers.

Icons of Mary sometimes portray her with an egg in her hand. As one folk tradition has it, Mary was at a banquet given by the Roman Emperor Tiberius and, while holding an egg, began to proclaim Christ's resurrection. Tiberius, laughing, said, "That's as likely as the egg in your hand turning red!" Immediately the egg turned red. It's likely that this tradition is related to the ancient custom of sharing dyed eggs on Easter Sunday as a sign of new life.

Image: Mary Magdalene and the Risen Christ, icon from St. Paul's Orthodox Church, Dayton, OH; Dmitry Shkolnik, iconographer

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