07/22/2026
For the Feast of Mary Magdalene . . .
A Sermon by Fr Mark +
Mary Magdalene: Apostle to the Apostles
The Importance of Women in the Church
Today we stand before one of the most powerful moments in all of Scripture— a moment entrusted not to Peter, not to John, not to any of the Twelve, but to Mary Magdalene.
In the garden, still wrapped in darkness, still trembling with grief, still searching for the One her heart loved, Jesus speaks her name— Mary! And then he gives her the first Easter commission:
“Go to my brothers and tell them: I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17)
This is not a small detail. This is not an accident. This is the Gospel’s bold proclamation that a woman— a faithful disciple, a courageous witness, a seeker of the Beloved— is the first herald of the Resurrection.
Mary Magdalene is the Apostle to the Apostles.
I. Who Mary Magdalene Really Was
We must begin by clearing away the centuries of falsehood that have clung to her name.
Mary Magdalene was not a pr******te. She was not a “fallen woman.” Scripture never says this. Not once.
What Scripture does say is that she was a woman healed by Christ, a woman who followed him faithfully, a woman who stood at the foot of the Cross when most fled, a woman who went to the tomb with courage, and a woman who became the first preacher of the Resurrection.
She is a model of discipleship— not because of scandal, but because of love.
Her story mirrors the longing of the Bride in the Song of Songs:
“I sought him whom my heart loves… I will rise and go about the city… I had hardly left them when I found him whom my heart loves.” (Song of Songs 3:1–4)
Mary Magdalene is the Bride searching for the Bridegroom. She is the soul thirsting for God. She is the disciple whose love refuses to let death have the final word.
II. Women Have Always Carried the Story of God
Mary Magdalene is not alone. Her witness stands in a long line of women who shaped salvation history.
Ruth
A foreigner, a widow, a woman with no social power— yet her loyalty becomes the very lineage of Christ.
Esther
A young Jewish woman whose courage saves her people and teaches us that God works through those the world overlooks.
Miriam
The prophetess who sings Israel’s first hymn of liberation and leads the people in praise.
The Myrrhbearers
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna— the women who refused to abandon Jesus in death and became the first witnesses of the empty tomb.
Mary and Martha
One who listens at the feet of Jesus, one who serves with devotion— together revealing that discipleship is both contemplation and action.
Phoebe
A deacon of the early Church, entrusted by Paul to carry and interpret his letter to the Romans.
Priscilla
A teacher of the faith, who with her husband Aquila instructed Apollos, one of the early Church’s greatest preachers.
Lydia
A businesswoman and patron of the Church, whose home becomes the first Christian community in Europe.
Dorcas (Tabitha)
A woman “full of good works,” raised from the dead because her ministry was indispensable.
Junia
Named by Paul as “prominent among the apostles”— a woman recognized for apostolic authority in the earliest Church.
And there are more— women whose names we know, and countless women whose names we do not, but whose faith built the Church we stand in today.
III. The Love of Christ Impels Us
St. Paul tells us:
“The love of Christ impels us… so that those who live may no longer live for themselves but for him who died and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:14–15)
The love of Christ impelled Mary Magdalene to run from the tomb and proclaim the Resurrection. It impelled Ruth to cling to Naomi. It impelled Esther to risk her life. It impelled Phoebe, Priscilla, Lydia, and Junia to preach, teach, serve, and lead.
The love of Christ impels us to recognize, honor, and uplift the indispensable role of women in the Church today.
Not as helpers. Not as footnotes. Not as “exceptions.” But as disciples, leaders, teachers, prophets, evangelists, and bearers of the Good News.
IV. What the Resurrection Teaches Us About Women
The Resurrection is the moment that defines our faith. And God chose a woman to carry it.
Why?
Because in Mary Magdalene, God reveals that grace is not limited by gender, that authority is not restricted by culture, and that the Gospel is entrusted to those who love fiercely and seek faithfully.
Mary Magdalene teaches us that:
• Women are central to the mission of Christ.
• Women are chosen by God to proclaim the Gospel.
• Women’s voices are essential to the life of the Church.
• Women’s leadership is rooted in Scripture, not modern invention.
When Jesus says, “Go to my brothers and tell them,” he is restoring the dignity of women in a world that often denied it.
He is declaring that the first preacher of Easter is a woman.
He is proclaiming that the Church cannot be whole without the witness of women.
V. A Call to the Church Today
If we truly believe the Gospel, then we must honor the women who carry it.
We must listen to their voices. We must recognize their gifts. We must support their ministries. We must ensure that the Church reflects the truth of Scripture— that women have always been essential to God’s saving work.
The Church is richer because of the women who teach, who preach, who serve, who lead, who pray, who nurture, who challenge, who build, who love.
The Church is stronger because of the women who, like Mary Magdalene, rise before dawn, seek the Lord, and proclaim, “I have seen the Lord.”
Conclusion
The Gospel today is not simply a story of an empty tomb. It is a story of a woman called by Christ to carry the greatest message ever spoken.
Let us honor Mary Magdalene— not the false caricature, not the invented scandal, but the true disciple, the apostle, the preacher of Resurrection.
Let us honor all the women whose faith has shaped the Church from Ruth to Junia, from Esther to Lydia, from Miriam to Phoebe, from Mary and Martha to the women in our own pews today.
And let us proclaim with them:
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. And the first to proclaim it was a woman.
