St. Mary, whom Jesus converted, and who
witnessed His last moments in company with
Mary, His Mother, and St. John, the beloved
disciple, was called Magdalen from the town of
Magdala in Galilee. At least St. Clement of
Alexandria and others identify the penitent
woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears
with Mary Magdalen.
She was by descent a Galilean and followed
Jesus with other devout women. Some also
suppose that she was the same Mary who was the
sister of Martha and Lazarus. After His
Resurrection, Jesus appeared first to Mary
Magdalen and then to His Apostles. It is an
ancient tradition in Provence, France, that St.
Mary Magdalen, or Mary the sister of Lazarus,
together with Lazarus, Martha, and some other
disciples of Our Lord, being expelled by the
Jews, put to sea and landed at Marseilles; and
that St. Lazarus became the first Bishop of that
See. The feast of St. Mary Magdalen is
celebrated by the Greeks as well as the Latins on
July 22nd
.
PRAYER: We beseech Thee, O Lord, that we be
helped by the intercession of Blessed Mary
Magdalen, by whose prayers Thou raised her
brother Lazarus to life after he had been dead
four days. Amen. Lives of the Saints, pages 278-280