St. Mary Magdala Celebration in Falls Church, VA./ Homily by Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP

On July 22nd 2012, a community gathered for an inclusive, joyful celebration of the apostle to the apostles.

We created a new Eucharistic Prayer in honor of St. Mary of Magdala. All participated in a dialogue homily and prayed the Prayers of Consecration. We welcomed all to feast at the Banquet of God's Love. 

In a recent article in the National Catholic Reporter, Phyllis Zagano, author of Women and Catholicism, writes: “Once a pope trashes you, it's pretty much downhill from there. So once Pope Gregory the Great in 591 declared that the "sinful" woman in Luke's Gospel who anointed Jesus' feet was Mary Magdalene, a whole industry developed to discredit her. That's big stuff. I mean, she is the one who announced the Resurrection. There's a zinger for everyone: sisters, nuns, married women, working women. OK, not quite everyone, just the female everyones. You know the litany: the LCWR thing, the birth control thing, the "radical feminist" thing. From here, it looks like half the church has been labeled reborn Magdalenes, locked out of papal offices with no way to respond, no way to react, no way out… “

http://ncronline.org/blogs/just-catholic/what-would-mary-magdalene-do

Oh yes, there is! 

My Sisters and brothers, like Mary of Magdala, the Risen Christ is calling us to be apostles to the apostles. As we live Gospel equality and partnership in inclusive, vibrant faith communities, our church is being reformed and renewed! We don’t have to wait for the Vatican to act. Mary of Magdala did not wait for Peter’s approval. The good news is: justice, like a river is rising up in the Catholic Church today!

In Luke 8:1-3, we learn that Jesus had male and female disciples including Mary of Magdala, 

Joanna , Suzanna, and many more who contributed to the support of Jesus with their own funds. Now how many sermons have you heard about the many women who bankrolled Jesus’ ministry?   Imagine a church today that honored the gifts of women as spiritual equals! This is the church of our dreams that we are birthing today.

The Gospel of John portrays a close relationship between Mary of Magdala and Jesus. When the other disciples come and go, Mary stays nearby, weeping, searching for clues of Jesus whereabouts.   Her grief is real. She has listened to his teaching and experienced his healing love.  This type of deep friendship suggests a break with the social conventions of the time.   Jesus treats Mary of Magdala as an equal among the male disciples. In an age where a woman’s word was suspect, the Risen Christ calls her to be the apostle to the apostles to proclaim the good news of the Resurrection, the central belief of Christianity.  Now is the time for the institutional church to follow Christ’s example.

 In an ancient Coptic Christian Scripture, “Pistis Sophia”, written in the Second Century, Jesus chooses Mary of Magdala and John to “be on my right and on my left.” Mary’s prominence is reflected throughout the document. She asks 39 out of 46 questions and participates in providing interpretation of this document. Peter expresses resentment toward her throughout the work: “My Lord we shall not be able to endure this woman, for she takes our opportunity and she has not let any of us speak and takes all the time herself.” Mary objects to Peter’s efforts to intimidate her and charges that “he hates the female race.”  

History is repeating itself today in the present spiritual revolution,  that is taking place in our church over the role of women.  I call it a “welcome holy shakeup!”

One example is the 400 Austrian priests, 300 German theologians  and 800 Irish priests who have endorsed women priests. This clerical rebellion really got the pope’s attention! 

On Holy Thursday, April 5^th, 2012, Pope Benedict chastised the male priests for their support of women’s ordination:  “Recently a group of priests from a European country issued a summons to disobedience, and at the same time gave concrete examples of the forms this disobedience might take, even to the point of disregarding definitive decisions of the Church’s Magisterium, such as the question of women’s ordination, for which Blessed Pope John Paul II stated irrevocably that the Church has received no authority from the Lord. Is disobedience a path of renewal for the Church?”

http://www.romereports.com/palio/pope-talks-about-the-role-of-priests-during-chrism-mass-also-addresses-rebellion-of-austrian-priest-english-6474.html

Yes,  Holy Father, it is the path of prophetic obedience to the Spirit.

The Irish Independent reported that The Association of Irish Priests called the pope’s reproof on Holy Thursday: “unfair, unwarranted and unwise.”

In spite of papal disapproval, the European priests, including Bishop Markus Buchel from the Diocese of St. Gall, Switzerland and Americans led by Fr. Roy Bourgeous, remain steadfast in their support of women’s ordination.

In the Gospel of Mary, written early in the Second Century, Jesus warns the disciples against following a “set of rules and laws not given by him.” Mary tells the disciples to proclaim the Gospel without fear. She assures them of the Savior’s presence. In the second part, she shares a vision she has received. Andrew and Peter react with scorn to her revelations but Levi defends her: “Peter , thou has ever been of hasty temper. Now I see that thou dost exercise thyself against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior has made her worthy, who then art thou to reject her?”

Amen, Levi, and amen to all our contemporary male priests and supporters who challenge sexism in the church. No more “tippy- toeing” around the elephant in our own living room!  

The early Church Fathers recognized Mary of Magdala’s leadership among the apostles. Pope Hippolytus who lived from 170 to 236 AD, addressed the role of women in early Christianity: “Lest the female apostles doubt the angels, Christ himself came to them so that the women would be apostles of Christ… Christ showed himself to the male apostles and said to them…’It is I who appeared to the women and I who wanted to send them to you as apostles.’” (Brock, Ann Graham, Mary Magdalene, the First Apostle The Struggle for Authority, 2003 (quotes Hippolytus (DeCantico 24-26, CSCO 264) pp. 43-49)

 Gregory of Antioch (d. 593) portrays Jesus as appearing to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary at the tomb and saying to them: “Be the first teachers to the teachers. So that Peter who denied me learns that I can also choose women as apostles.”   (Brock, p. 15)

 In Romans 16, St. Paul praises Junia and Andronicus, as “outstanding apostles” who were in Christ before he was. Since Paul, Junia and Andronicus were apostles, there were more than 12 apostles.  The “twelve” was a symbolic number referring to the twelve tribes of Israel. And, of course, in spite of what the hierarchy in the Roman Catholic church states, Jesus did not ordain anyone at the last supper

So let’s be clear, women were apostles- according to the Risen Christ, St. Paul, Church Fathers and a pope. Women apostles are affirmed in the bible and in our church’s tradition! Therefore, the church should follow the example of  Jesus and treat women as equals.

Why does the Vatican today not “get” this?

It is time to push the reset button here!

Scholars, like Gary Macy, in The Hidden History of Women's Ordination, present scholarly evidence of women in Holy Orders during the first twelve hundred years of the church's history.

One could say that is the church's best kept secret, but NO MORE!!

One of the top stories that has grabbed the headlines since April is the Nunjustice Project. Thousands of Catholics and non-Catholics, from all walks of life, have signed petitions and attended rallies in support of nuns who have endured two Vatican investigations.  If you visit the NunJustice Project website, you can find out many ways you can express your support. http://nunjustice.tumblr.com/

The Vatican’s investigation of religious orders in the United States and their hostile “take-over” of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious  focused on hot button issues such as women’s ordination, reproductive healthcare and gay marriage. In response to the Vatican’s rebuke the Sisters embarked on a bus trip to nine states to showcase their ministry to the poor and disenfranchised. The nuns on the bus were greeted like rock stars everywhere they went.

This is a cause near and dear to my heart.

When I was 18 years old I entered a teaching order the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters, also known as the “Mighty Macs.” In 1995, I became a  Sister for Christian Community in an independent religious order, not under Vatican control, whose mission is to live Jesus prayer, “that all may be one” by building Christian community wherever we are and with whomever we are near. 

I pray that one day soon, nun priests will bless our church!

In 1969, Pope Paul VI officially corrected Pope Gregory’s error, mis-identifying Mary of Magdala with the sinful woman in Luke 7. Can’t you just see Mary, apostle to the apostles, applauding and giving a thumbs up in heaven?

As Phyllis Zagano concludes: “We are all Magdalenes. “

Amen!

 Let us share our hopes and dreams  in a dialogue homily now. Take a few moments for prayerful reflection on the following question:

How can we, like St. Mary of Magdala, promote the Good News of Gospel justice, equality, and partnership rising up in our church and world?