Today we celebrate the feast of St. Mary Magdalene. The Latin Church has traditionally, though not uniformly, held that the Mary the Gospels describe as accompanying Jesus in his ministry, the Mary from whom seven devils were cast out, and the Mary who stood at the foot of the cross, witnessed Jesus laid in the tomb, and was the first to encounter Jesus in the garden after the resurrection are all the same Mary. St. Ambrose is among the more prominent Latin dissenters on this point. The Fathers of the Greek Church have traditionally held that the Mary who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and dried them with her hair, the Mary who was the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and Mary Magdalen are three distinct persons. The Catholic Encyclopedia has more on this debate here.
From today's office of Lauds, courtesy of Universalis:
"Almighty, ever-living God, your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ made Mary Magdalen the first herald of Easter joy.
Grant that, following her example and her prayers, we may, in this life, proclaim the living Christ, and come to see him reigning in your glory."
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