Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
April 11, 2001
Dying and Rising: The faithfulness of genuine love
Faithful love means caring `in good times and bad'
By Julie McCarty
Love is easy until it hurts.
Married couples know that faithfulness is a key ingredient of genuine love. Although we often associate faithfulness with sexual fidelity, faithful love is in reality much broader. Faithful love is about caring deeply for the other "in good times and in bad." Examples of this type of love may be found between friends who have weathered a storm together or grandparents who love a wayward grandchild unconditionally.
Times of crisis push humans to the wall, enabling us to discover how strong or how weak our love really is. When I miscarried a baby, my husband was lovingly present to me, despite his own disappointment, pain, and grief. He did not abandon me. We experienced the "for better or worse" of sacramental love.
The Gospel readings recounting Christ's death and resurrection present St. Mary Magdalene as one who remained steadfast in her devotion to Christ during the crucifixion and at the tomb.
When I was growing up, I thought of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute. Of course, she was a repentant prostitute, but I never thought much about her life after her conversion. In fact, modern scholars point out that the Scriptures do not tell of her prostitution at all. In the Gospel of Luke, Mary Magdalene is identified as one who was cured of "evil spirits and infirmities" (8:2).
What did Mary Magdalene do after she was cured? The gospels of Matthew and Luke tell us that Mary Magdalene and other women traveled with Jesus as he preached to various towns, serving him along the way.
Does Mary Magdalene stay home the day of the crucifixion? Although women are sometimes not named in Scripture, Gospel writers Matthew, Mark, and John specifically name Mary Magdalene as witnessing Christ's death. This has led to the famous depiction in art of Mary Magdalene weeping at the foot of the cross.
After his death, Mary Magdalene observes carefully the place of the tomb, returning on the Sabbath to anoint the body of Christ. Her vigilance is rewarded when the Risen Christ appears to her, with the command to tell his brothers that he is risen from the dead (John 20:11-18).
In his encyclical "On the Dignity and Vocation of Women," Pope John Paul II reminds us that Mary Magdalene has been traditionally called "the apostle to the Apostles," because she was sent by Christ to bring the news of the resurrection to the apostles.
Where did Mary Magdalene learn about such faithful love? Her love was a mirror of the faithful love of Christ, the one who, in a moment of agony, would tell the Father, "... not as I will, but as You will" (Matt. 26:39). This perfect love would make it possible for Christ to be thinking of the needs of others even during his execution, promising Paradise to the "good thief," providing for his mother's needs, and even forgiving his torturers in the midst of excruciating pain.
As we cast off our Lenten fast, Christ calls us to become more like St. Mary Magdalene, the one who loved Christ through thick and thin. During the 50 days of Easter, may we love others more fully, "for better or worse."
Julie McCarty is a freelance writer from Eagan, Minnesota with a master's degree in theology from St. Paul Seminary at the University of St. Thomas. She can be contacted at soulwriting@yahoo.com.
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