As the liturgical year speeds by, the feast days of the saints come and go.  They are like old friends popping in for a yearly visit, just to greet us and remind us of their concern and prayers.                                                                                         
On July 22nd, we will have the feast day of one of my favorites: Saint Mary Magdalene.  I always enjoy it when I encounter her in the readings at Mass, or in this case, as we celebrate her feast day. Mary is such a common name of the holy women in Scriptures that even the Scripture scholars are sometimes confused over which Mary is present in a particular passage.  I am sure that it will all be sorted our when we get to the fullness of the Heavenly Kingdom.                                                                                                 
Some things that we do know about Mary Magdalene are that she was a notorious sinner.  We don’t know what she did, but active imaginations have supplied us with all sorts of detailed accounts.  In art, Mary Magdalene is often  portrayed either in a state of rather immodest dress or cowering before Jesus as a penitent. We do know that Jesus cast out seven demons from her.  Mary Magdalene repented of her sins and became an ardent follower of Jesus.  She accompanied Jesus on his final journey as He carried the cross and was crucified on Calvary.  When most of the apostles abandoned Jesus, she was at the foot of the cross with Saint John and the Blessed Virgin Mary.  She was with Jesus at His death and at His burial.  Because of her fidelity to Jesus, Mary Magdalene was to receive a singular grace.  On Easter morning, Jesus appeared to her and she was the first to proclaim the Resurrection to the apostles! This shows to me the power of the grace of God. That Mary Magdalene could go from being a notorious sinner, then to receive forgiveness from Jesus, and then be among the first to encounter the Risen Lord!  God is so good!                                                                                      
Because of this, I am filled with tremendous hope that no matter how I have failed in my life, the love and grace of God is stronger than that. And if the sinner Mary Magdalene is now the great Saint Mary Magdalene, what will God do in my life if I allow him?                                                                           
As we move through these summer days, may you also meet Jesus along the way.  Let Him move you as He has so many others from the realm of a sinner to the glory of a saint!

Msgr. Cox
Christ's Appearance to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection, Alexander Ivanov (1835)