What on earth, you may rightly ask, has the 1966 Western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly to do with Mary Magdalene? Nothing much really. However, while I was cogitating about her new status among saints, Ennio Morricone's haunting theme song sprang to mind. Instantly, I knew there must be some connection. The lasting legacy of this movie's well known theme song, regarded as one of the best of all times, speaks to me of the legacy of Mary Magdalene - of the good, the bad and the ugly written about her. Did I mention that Morricone’s composition was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2009? No, I did not; neither did I mention Mary Magdalene finally being given her rightful place by dear Pope Francis - her induction into a different sort of 'Hall of Fame.' Half a century ago, this year, we first heard the instantly recognizable theme music of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The good, the bad and the ugly about Mary Magdalene, on the other hand, has been widely proclaimed for nearly 2000 years.
At times it is helpful to turn things upside down. So let me start with some of the prolific ugly written about Mary of Magdala, (also referred to as the red head, the courtesan, the prostitute or even the vamp) and then work my way through some of the bad. I'll keep the good for last. We all know her story from Sacred Scripture. In more recent years, however, a glut of books about Mary Magdalene, spawned in part by Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, has flooded the book market. Brown's 2003 mystery-detective novel involves a battle over the possibility of Jesus Christ having been married to Mary Magdalene.
Have you heard of Mark Adamo’s ambitious opera The Gospel of Mary Magdalene? Sadly, at the end of the central scene in the first act he chose to have Mary Magdalene take Jesus to bed. Then there are the movies. Like the novel, the film The Last Temptation of Christ depicts the life of Jesus Christ and his struggle with various forms of temptation including lust, and shows a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Enough said.
In her book The Friendship of Women, Joan Chittister notes that, “Mary Magdalene is the woman whom scripture calls by name in a time when women were seldom named in public documents at all. She is, in fact, named fourteen times.” Yet, even in biblical scholarship perhaps, no figure has been the subject of more controversy and debate than Mary Magdalene. Amidst all of the conjecture regarding the identity of Mary of Magdala there are important details that do emerge from all four Gospels: she is the only woman besides Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is mentioned by name in all four texts. She is also always the first listed when there is mention of the women present at an event. And, most essentially, we know that Mary Magdalene is the first to see Jesus Christ resurrected from the tomb. It is
because of this that she is considered the “apostle of apostles,” called so by Thomas Aquinas and even by Augustine, who was a bit of a misogynist. Yet, the fact that Mary Magdalene was freed from the possession of seven demons has resulted in great focus on the perceived stigma of her past, especially by the sixth-century Pope Gregory the Great. Thankfully in 1969 the Church officially repealed his labeling of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute.
Now, much to my delight and that of all those who hold her in high esteem, Pope Francis has further elevated her status by raising the celebration of the memorial of the ‘Apostle to the Apostles’ celebrated on 22 July to the dignity of a liturgical Feast. Pope Francis made this decision precisely in the context of the Jubilee of Mercy to signify the importance of this woman who showed such great love for Christ and was much loved by Christ. One can only hope that this finally puts an end to all the ‘bad and ugly’ that has been said about Saint Mary Magdalene for far too long.
In Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar Mary Magdalene proclaims:
I've been changed, yes, really changed.
In these past few days when I've seen myself
I seem like someone else. I've been changed, yes, really changed.
In these past few days when I've seen myself
I seem like someone else.
May we follow Magdalene’s inspiring example. She was no ‘vamp’ but a woman who loved Jesus deeply. May she, who attested to the Resurrection of Jesus with her proclamation: “I have seen the Lord” (John 20:18) inspire us to love as she loved.
Guest Blogger: Sr. Magdalena Vogt, cps
Painting by renowned South African artist, Shirley Howells