Oh my gosh! I just finished reading this, and I was so thrilled because I couldn’t find a single other book about Mary Magdalene that was authentically Catholic and written in English! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
I just bought three Mary Magdalene books, this being one of them, so I am very excited! On Holy Thursday I was one of the people to get my foot washed (a childhood dream--my sister said I have the weirdest bucket list ever!) and I made sure to wear a long, flow y dress which I admitted was influenced by Mary Magdalene. That started me thinking about her amazing place in our salvation history. So thank you for this opportunity to read it with my sisters in Christ!
Oooh so excited! Mary Magdalene has been hanging around me as well this past year. Our daughter, Magdalene, was born last September and I love her name now even more than I did when she was born. Can’t wait to get to know her better through this book!!
Oh wonderful! There are definitely a lot of poor (and often downright erroneous) interpretations of Mary Magdalene. We definitely need to learn more about this great saint!
I’m almost finished reading this book for a local book club. I’d love to get your musings. And to be included in your comps if that applies to previous pilgrims as well (France 2021). 😊
The fact that Mary Magdalene is described here as a "feminist saint" forces me to confess the following. I am writing a book that has two chapters devoted to the theory that the first century Christian community was a de facto matriarchy, even though it was a de jure patriarchy. According to this theory, Mary Magdalene was the secular leader of the Christian community, while Peter was the spiritual leader. There are two facts about the Bible that justify this view. Firstly, when Saul was king in Israel (a secular leader), Samuel was the main prophet (spiritual leader). This duality still existed in the Jewish community in Jesus's day, with Herod as secular leader and Caiaphas as spiritual leader. Secondly, in Judges we find that Deborah, although subordinate to her husband in accordance with Mosaic Law, was chosen by God to be a judge - not her husband. Logically, this implies that if a woman could become a judge before Jesus's coming, then a woman should have been able to achieve an even higher position under the conditions of the new covenant established with Jesus's death and resurrection.
A big objection to this theory is that in the Acts of the Apostles, all major decisions made by the Christian community are made by men. However, if secular power was concentrated in Mary's hands, then it would make sense that her achievements are absent from the account because such successes were valued much less than the kind of spiritual work a male apostle would do, such as preach the good news and distribute food to the poor. Finally, Luke, who wrote Acts, when describing the division of labor among Jesus's disciples, in the Gospel according to Luke, records that while the 12 Apostles were sent out with no financial resources, the female disciples were in possession of the finances.
Oh my gosh! I just finished reading this, and I was so thrilled because I couldn’t find a single other book about Mary Magdalene that was authentically Catholic and written in English! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
I just bought three Mary Magdalene books, this being one of them, so I am very excited! On Holy Thursday I was one of the people to get my foot washed (a childhood dream--my sister said I have the weirdest bucket list ever!) and I made sure to wear a long, flow y dress which I admitted was influenced by Mary Magdalene. That started me thinking about her amazing place in our salvation history. So thank you for this opportunity to read it with my sisters in Christ!
Cool! I just bought it last month!
Oooh so excited! Mary Magdalene has been hanging around me as well this past year. Our daughter, Magdalene, was born last September and I love her name now even more than I did when she was born. Can’t wait to get to know her better through this book!!
Please include me. Thank you!
I’m in!
My copy arrived today! I can’t wait for the read-along!
Just got it in the mail! Can’t wait!
Oh wonderful! There are definitely a lot of poor (and often downright erroneous) interpretations of Mary Magdalene. We definitely need to learn more about this great saint!
Check this out—we got to hear a talk by the author a year or so ago in Raleigh. She makes a case for StMM being somewhat suppressed by scribes over time. So very interesting! https://today.duke.edu/2019/06/mary-or-martha-duke-scholars-research-finds-mary-magdalene-downplayed-new-testament-scribes
Awesome! I've already started. Can't wait!
So excited for this!
I’m almost finished reading this book for a local book club. I’d love to get your musings. And to be included in your comps if that applies to previous pilgrims as well (France 2021). 😊
Yes it does! Shoot me an email to claireswinarski@gmail with the email you use!
I just ordered this book. Please include me!
The fact that Mary Magdalene is described here as a "feminist saint" forces me to confess the following. I am writing a book that has two chapters devoted to the theory that the first century Christian community was a de facto matriarchy, even though it was a de jure patriarchy. According to this theory, Mary Magdalene was the secular leader of the Christian community, while Peter was the spiritual leader. There are two facts about the Bible that justify this view. Firstly, when Saul was king in Israel (a secular leader), Samuel was the main prophet (spiritual leader). This duality still existed in the Jewish community in Jesus's day, with Herod as secular leader and Caiaphas as spiritual leader. Secondly, in Judges we find that Deborah, although subordinate to her husband in accordance with Mosaic Law, was chosen by God to be a judge - not her husband. Logically, this implies that if a woman could become a judge before Jesus's coming, then a woman should have been able to achieve an even higher position under the conditions of the new covenant established with Jesus's death and resurrection.
A big objection to this theory is that in the Acts of the Apostles, all major decisions made by the Christian community are made by men. However, if secular power was concentrated in Mary's hands, then it would make sense that her achievements are absent from the account because such successes were valued much less than the kind of spiritual work a male apostle would do, such as preach the good news and distribute food to the poor. Finally, Luke, who wrote Acts, when describing the division of labor among Jesus's disciples, in the Gospel according to Luke, records that while the 12 Apostles were sent out with no financial resources, the female disciples were in possession of the finances.
I'm in!