SAINT MARY MAGDALENE
July 22
	Though her transgressions may have been many, just as abundant was her love for her Lord. Perhaps one of the greatest conversion stories of the New Testament, Mary Magdalene was one from whom seven demons had been expelled, a woman plagued by turmoil. She lived her own type of hell on earth, that is, until Jesus crossed her path one day. She first appears in the Bible accompanying him as he journeyed from one town to the other “preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God”. Her gratitude led her to follow and serve her Lord tirelessly, all the way up to the foot of the cross. She did not abandon him in the face of difficulty, nor did she deny him despite the harsh cruelty all around her. She was one of the few to accompany him, gazing upon his beaten and torn countenance as he took his final breath. Jesus rewarded this loving devotion as she is known in Mark’s account to be the first one to see him after the Resurrection (Mark 16:9). May we follow the example of Saint Mary Magdalene in our unwavering dedication to God, so that at the end of our days we may also declare, “I have seen the Lord!”
―Tami Urcia