As DaVinci movie fades, true face of Magdala has staying power
The Da Vinci Code movie is past, but the true Mary of Magdala still inspires thousands who long for a church of equality for women. Some 300 groups held special celebrations of St. Mary of Magdala on or around July 22 in this ninth year of FutureChurch/CTA promotion of her true identity as the “Apostle to the Apostles” and the first witness to the Resurrection.
The 2006 push included an advocacy postcard campaign to local bishops and the president of the USCCB, asking them to welcome women preachers, ordain women to the diaconate, and re-open the discussion of priesthood based on contemporary biblical and theological research. At least 26 groups distributed the pre-printed postcards as part of their celebration and participants signed and mailed them.
Generous media coverage occurred in the Chicago Tribune, Rocky Mountain News, Newsday, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and other papers in Indiana, Maryland, Wisconsin, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The NCR carried an op-ed piece by Chris Schenk, who originated the program in 1997. Many celebrations also extolled other role models such as Julian of Norwich, Therese of Lisieux, and Dorothy Day, using FutureChurch/CTA Celebrating Women Witnesses essays and prayer services. For more about resources, visit www.futurechurch.org
The second annual Mary of Magdala poetry contest produced some lovely poems. To read the first, second and third prize winners, visit www.futurechurch.org We also plan to print the first place poem in the October issue of ChurchWatch. Our judge, Anne F. Edwards, an accomplished poet in her own right, commented: “It’s so interesting how many of the poets seem to experience a kind of freedom in their contemplation of Mary's life. They're very nice.”
Because the feast day fell on a Saturday, many chose to incorporate the celebrations into weekend liturgies. At Notre Dame de Lourdes in Skowhegan, Maine, they showed the video “The Real Mary Magdalene” after all Masses. At Christ the King in Pleasant Hill, Calif., 22 slides of women in ministry through the centuries were projected during the offertory procession.