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Batgirl1415
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My sister’s religion teacher told her that Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute. I thought it was common knowledge that Mary was an adultress? Help me out!
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Genesis315
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The Church has no official teaching on the subject. Truth is, we don’t really know either way. Some have held the opinion that she was a prostitute, while some have not. Either way, she was a sinner who came to follow Jesus. That’s all that matters.
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psalm90
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There was a program on the DaVinci Code on the History Channel or the National Geographic channel which explained how one of the popes, a long time ago, equated Mary Magdalene with the woman prostitute in the gospels.
The previous post is accurate in summing up that the matter is not so clear, or, more precisely, that Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute.
I suppose there’s some intrigue here, that Jesus was associating with a prostitute in some way. Some would like to focus on that point, which clearly the scripture does not. The ambiguity in the scripture even seems to make the statement, what’s the difference?
The previous post is accurate in summing up that the matter is not so clear, or, more precisely, that Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute.
I suppose there’s some intrigue here, that Jesus was associating with a prostitute in some way. Some would like to focus on that point, which clearly the scripture does not. The ambiguity in the scripture even seems to make the statement, what’s the difference?
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Tantum_ergo
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Well, Mary had “seven devils” in her which Jesus cast out.
Whether she was a prostitute or not IS unclear; therefore, I would be as leery of someone claiming that she absolutely was NOT a prostitute as of someone claiming that she absolutely WAS, given the facts as we know them.
Far better IMO to give all the information, past and present. It isn’t really up to us to “decide”, anyway, is it?
Whether she was a prostitute or not IS unclear; therefore, I would be as leery of someone claiming that she absolutely was NOT a prostitute as of someone claiming that she absolutely WAS, given the facts as we know them.
Far better IMO to give all the information, past and present. It isn’t really up to us to “decide”, anyway, is it?
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BayCityRickL
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I’ve really ignored the DaVinci Code controversy, for the most part. The Church has had critics and detractors for centuries, and I think this matter would have surfaced long ago.
In particular, though, I am annoyed how people are so easily swayed that MM was an apostle. Yes, Jesus sent her to the male apostles to tell them that he had risen. But, I think that makes her an apostle only in the loosest sense. I mean, every messenger was not an apostle. Every disciple was not an apostle.
The “apostles” are those who were enumerated in one way or another. There were fourteen apostles, right? The original 12, wasn’t it Bartholemew who replaced Judas, and then Paul talks about himself as an apostle commissioned by Jesus Christ.
I actually have an open mind on the subject. I’m simply not persuaded that being a messenger of the resurrection makes Mary a full-fledged apostle. It sure was critical and noteworthy that she was a “witness” to the resurrection.
In particular, though, I am annoyed how people are so easily swayed that MM was an apostle. Yes, Jesus sent her to the male apostles to tell them that he had risen. But, I think that makes her an apostle only in the loosest sense. I mean, every messenger was not an apostle. Every disciple was not an apostle.
The “apostles” are those who were enumerated in one way or another. There were fourteen apostles, right? The original 12, wasn’t it Bartholemew who replaced Judas, and then Paul talks about himself as an apostle commissioned by Jesus Christ.
I actually have an open mind on the subject. I’m simply not persuaded that being a messenger of the resurrection makes Mary a full-fledged apostle. It sure was critical and noteworthy that she was a “witness” to the resurrection.
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Fidelis
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For the record, it was Matthias that was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:15-26).
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preyoflove
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If you refer to Acts 14:13, which reads “Which, when the apostles Barnabas and Paul had heard, rending their clothes, they leaped out among the people, crying,”, Barnabas would be the fifteenth apostle.
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Fidelis
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That’s a good point. However I think that both Barnabas and even Paul aren’t considered apostles in the same sense that the original twelve (including Mathias, after he replaced Judas) are. The number twelve had high symbolic significance in the roots of the early Church, since it was built on the 12 Apostles as a foundation, as the Old Testament people of God was built on the foundation of the 12 tribes of Israel. We see this in such places as Ephesians 2:20 and Revelation 22:14.
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Barbara_Ann
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Tantum ergo:
I have heard it said that the seven devils were the seven deadly sins. I have also heard that in those times people having mental illnesses such as Tourette’s syndrome ( I think I have mispelled that) were considered to have a devil in them. So the fact here is Mary Magdalene was ill either spiritually of physically. For this she was an outcaste Jeasus had compassion and healed her. And He will do the same for all of us.
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wjhii
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St. Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute, but Jesus did save a woman named Mary who was a prostitute. The confusion comes from the Gospel of St. Luke where he writes of anointing of Christ’s feet by a woman, a “sinner” in the city (Luke 7:37-50). Later in the gospel he makes mention of women who ministered to Christ, among them being “Mary who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth” (Luke 8:2); in the same Gospel Mary of Bethany is also mentioned and has also been accused of being the sinner of Luke 7:37-50. St. John, however, clearly identifies Mary of Bethany with the woman who anointed Christ’s feet (12; cf. Matthew 26 and Mark 14). It is remarkable that already in 11:2, St. John has spoken of Mary as “she that anointed the Lord’s feet”, he aleipsasa; It is commonly said that he refers to the subsequent anointing which he himself describes in 12:3-8; but it may be questioned whether he would have used he aleipsasa if another woman, and she a “sinner” in the city, had done the same.
According to a French tradition, Mary, Lazarus, and some companions came to Marseilles and converted the whole of Provence. Magdalen is said to have retired to a hill, La Sainte-Baume, near by, where she gave herself up to a life of penance for thirty years. When the time of her death arrived she was carried by angels to Aix and into the oratory of St. Maximinus, where she received the viaticum; her body was then laid in an oratory constructed by St. Maximinus at Villa Lata, afterwards called St. Maximin. History is silent about these relics till 745, when according to the chronicler Sigebert, they were removed to Vézelay through fear of the Saracens. No record is preserved of their return, but in 1279, when Charles II, King of Naples, erected a convent at La Sainte-Baume for the Dominicans, the shrine was found intact, with an inscription stating why they were hidden. In 1600 the relics were placed in a sarcophagus sent by Clement VIII, the head being placed in a separate vessel. In 1814 the church of La Sainte-Baume, wrecked during the Revolution, was restored, and in 1822 the grotto was consecrated afresh. The head of the saint now lies there, where it has lain so long, and where it has been the center of so many pilgrimages.
Information on this tomb can be found at:
crt-paca.fr/eng/GP/avoir/dossier?DOSID=6556
Some parts of this response have been taken directly from the Catholic Encyclopedia
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prodromos
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Saint Mary Magdalen was not a prostitute. She was however a women of some wealth and standing which enabled her to gain audience with the Roman Emperor where she testified against Pontius Pilate regarding the crucifixion of Christ, who was of course innocent of any crime let alone one deserving crucifixion. Pilate had become very successful up until now because he had managed to obtain Christ’s robe and wore it under his own clothes. The grace of the robe gave him a commanding presence and all paid homage to him because of it. When Pilate came before the Emperor to answer the charges against him everyone stood as he entered the room including the Emperor, much to the Emperor’s shock and embarassment. Mary then explained to the Emperor that he had been compelled to stand because Pilate was wearing the robe of Christ under his tunic. The Emperor ordered Pilate to remove the robe and at once the grace left him and he was humbled before them.
At a meal with the Emperor, Mary Magdalen had told him of Christ’s resurrection after which the Emperor declared that a man could no more rise from the dead than an egg could turn red. Mary picked up an egg off the table and it immediately turned red in her hand. This is why Orthodox dye eggs red just before Easter and why icons of Mary Magdalen often depict her holding a red egg in her hand.
Her right hand is kept in the church at the Monastery of Simonopetra on Mount Athos in Greece. Not only is it incorrupt, but the flesh is soft and supple and it still maintains body temperature.
John.
At a meal with the Emperor, Mary Magdalen had told him of Christ’s resurrection after which the Emperor declared that a man could no more rise from the dead than an egg could turn red. Mary picked up an egg off the table and it immediately turned red in her hand. This is why Orthodox dye eggs red just before Easter and why icons of Mary Magdalen often depict her holding a red egg in her hand.
Her right hand is kept in the church at the Monastery of Simonopetra on Mount Athos in Greece. Not only is it incorrupt, but the flesh is soft and supple and it still maintains body temperature.
John.
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wjhii
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John
Could you please state the source of your interesting claims.
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Timothy888
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I’d like to hear them too!
prodromos:
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cleofet
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I would also like to know where this information came from. I have never heard any of this before.
Thanks
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RyanL
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from everything i’ve been able to find, the vatican made a statement in 1969 to the effect that mary magdalene was NOT a prostitute.
from an article i found:
hope this helps…
RyanL
from an article i found:
granted, this article was a bit slanted, but nonetheless if you do a google search for “catholic magdalene 1969 prostitute” you’ll get a BUNCH of hits saying that the vatican officially separated the two. but for all those hits, i haven’t found ANY which say HOW the vatican officially separated the two (i.e., homily, encyclical, press release, etc.).
hope this helps…
RyanL
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LSK
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The Catholic Encyclopedia has a wonderful article on St. Mary Magdalene, and I received some wonderful literature on her from the Society of St. Mary Magdalene.
The information that John posted - I remember being taught as a child that this was a part of the 'apocrypha gospels" (please excuse my spelling) but that some of the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church honor this story and incorporate its tradition into some of their pagentry.
Does anyone know more about these rites of the Catholic Church? I am hardly expert enough to speak to them.
The information that John posted - I remember being taught as a child that this was a part of the 'apocrypha gospels" (please excuse my spelling) but that some of the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church honor this story and incorporate its tradition into some of their pagentry.
Does anyone know more about these rites of the Catholic Church? I am hardly expert enough to speak to them.
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prodromos
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The Convent of the Annunciation of Mary near Ormylia in Halkidiki, Greece. The convent has close ties with the Monastery of Simonopetra and also happens to be dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalen along with the Annunciation, so they know quite a bit about Saint Mary
I was blessed to be able to venerate her hand when I visited the Monastery of Simonopetra on Mount Athos a few weeks ago. I also spent time at the Monastery of Philotheou where I was able to venerate the incorrupt hand of Saint John Chrysostom.
I’ll share some more of what the nuns told us, but I’m afraid I’m fuzzy on the details.
Mary Magdalen was instrumental in the conversion of a French ruler and his wife (their names are one of the details I cannot remember) as his wife was barren and it was through her intercession that they finally conceived a child. The ruler wished to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and his wife, not wanting to be left by herself for a few years, wished to accompany him. He was obviously concerned about her travelling while pregnant but Mary Magdalen gave them her blessing to travel together. Unfortunately his wife was killed in an accident while at sea (again the details elude me) and rather than commit her body to the deep, the ruler begged the captain to find an island where she could be buried. It turned out that there was a small desert island in the vicinity and they placed the body of his pregnant wife in a cave on this island before continuing on to Jerusalem. On their return a few years later, the ruler asked the captain if they could go past the island either to pay his last respects or to retrieve her remains for burial in France. On approaching the island they were suprised to see a small child standing on the shore and as they came closer the child ran into the cave where he had left his wife. Imagine his shock when he entered the cave to find his wife alive and well, as well as having given birth to their child. Amazed at finding his wife alive, he asked her how she had survived all these years as there was no food or water on this small island. She replied that Mary Magdalen had come bringing food and drink every day until the day they had returned.
Truly, God is wondrous in His saints
John.
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wjhii
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John,
Wonderful post. Do you have a link to a photo of the hand?
prodromos:
Wonderful post. Do you have a link to a photo of the hand?
The Convent of the Annunciation of Mary near Ormylia in Halkidiki, Greece. The convent has close ties with the Monastery of Simonopetra and also happens to be dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalen along with the Annunciation, so they know quite a bit about Saint Mary
I was blessed to be able to venerate her hand when I visited the Monastery of Simonopetra on Mount Athos a few weeks ago. I also spent time at the Monastery of Philotheou where I was able to venerate the incorrupt hand of Saint John Chrysostom.
I’ll share some more of what the nuns told us, but I’m afraid I’m fuzzy on the details.
Mary Magdalen was instrumental in the conversion of a French ruler and his wife (their names are one of the details I cannot remember) as his wife was barren and it was through her intercession that they finally conceived a child. The ruler wished to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and his wife, not wanting to be left by herself for a few years, wished to accompany him. He was obviously concerned about her travelling while pregnant but Mary Magdalen gave them her blessing to travel together. Unfortunately his wife was killed in an accident while at sea (again the details elude me) and rather than commit her body to the deep, the ruler begged the captain to find an island where she could be buried. It turned out that there was a small desert island in the vicinity and they placed the body of his pregnant wife in a cave on this island before continuing on to Jerusalem. On their return a few years later, the ruler asked the captain if they could go past the island either to pay his last respects or to retrieve her remains for burial in France. On approaching the island they were suprised to see a small child standing on the shore and as they came closer the child ran into the cave where he had left his wife. Imagine his shock when he entered the cave to find his wife alive and well, as well as having given birth to their child. Amazed at finding his wife alive, he asked her how she had survived all these years as there was no food or water on this small island. She replied that Mary Magdalen had come bringing food and drink every day until the day they had returned.
Truly, God is wondrous in His saints
John.
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