Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Mary Magdalene is often depicted weeping (the English word maudlin, meaning “excessively weepy and sentimental,” is derived from Magdalene). Although in 1969 the Vatican officially separated Mary Magdalene from the sinner in Luke’s gospel, centuries of sermons and Christian art depicting Mary as the sorrowful, penitent prostitute have embedded that image into the Christian psyche. But this doesn’t do justice to the woman early Christians called the “apostle to the apostles.” Mary Magdalene was the first to see and recognize the risen Lord and announce his Resurrection to the apostles. Let her joyful witness inspire you to see Christ more clearly in your own life.