Services will honor Mary Magdalene

For centuries, she was depicted as a redeemed sinner – a prostitute who sought forgiveness and became a follower of Jesus.

But Mary Magdalene wasn’t at all the scandalous biblical figure that history portrayed her to be. In fact, she was never even a prostitute.

The woman also known as St. Mary of Magdala, a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, was really a devoted disciple of Jesus and the first person to witness him after the resurrection, Bible scholars say. Some even describe her as a wealthy, independent woman who supported Jesus’ ministry.

Today, Mary Magdalene often symbolizes the role of women in Christianity.

“I have a special devotion to St. Mary of Magdala,” said Maggie Albo, of Spokane Valley. “She was one of Jesus’ closest disciples and a strong and amazing woman. Without her, I think the church could not have survived.”

On Tuesday, Albo and other Roman Catholic women will lead a special prayer service to celebrate the life and faith of Mary Magdalene. The hour-long gathering will include music, dance and reflections on her contributions to Christianity.

The Spokane Valley event will be among more than 300 celebrations worldwide to observe the Feast Day of St. Mary of Magdala, which is officially on Saturday. Organized by two reform Catholic groups: FutureChurch and Call to Action. These gatherings also will highlight the work of women in parishes, convents, schools, private homes and faith communities.

As part of the event, Call to Action Spokane will ask people to “prayerfully consider” sending postcards to Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, urging him to petition the Vatican to discuss the possibility of allowing women to be ordained deacons and priests.

The Catholic Church in the United States has more female ministers than diocesan priests, said Christine Schenk, executive director of FutureChurch, a national coalition of Catholics who seek a greater role for laity. “Yet none of these ministers can preach or proclaim the Gospel at Mass even though they have the academic and ministerial qualifications. This is a great loss to our church and certainly is not consistent with the practice of Jesus.”

According to statements issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, women cannot become priests because “the Church is bound to follow the example of the Lord, who chose only men as his apostles.”

But many say that women did indeed play a significant role in Jesus’ ministry and that Mary Magdalene was the most obvious example.

“Women worked alongside the men,” said Albo, a parishioner at St. Mary’s and a chaplain for Hospice of Spokane. “We have absolute proof of women in the early church who were deacons and presbyters, but as time went on, they were suppressed and were not to be seen or heard.”

In recent years, Mary Magdalene has received even more attention thanks to Dan Brown’s bestselling novel and the blockbuster movie it inspired. Although the novel sheds light on women’s contributions to the church, Schenk and others say it has done a disservice to Mary of Magdala because it focuses on the fiction of her marital status instead of her leadership role.

“The best thing that happened with ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was that people heard her name and learned that she was actually somebody who was important to Jesus and not simply the forgiven, wanton wench,” said Albo, who doesn’t think Jesus was ever married to Mary Magdalene despite the assertions made in Brown’s work of fiction. “But she has become a sexual object in the book, and her importance to the church was relegated to her womb.”

Albo was so inspired by Mary Magdalene’s courage and generosity that three years ago she spearheaded efforts to bury the cremated remains of 197 people who were never claimed at the Spokane County medical examiner’s office. Her example was included in a December 2005 Newsweek article about Mary Magdalene and the significance of women in the Scriptures.

“Mary has taught me to step out in faith to do the work of Jesus,” Albo told Newsweek. “I aspire to be a Mary of Magdala … a woman unafraid to speak up.”