... is today.
Not surprisingly, the Gospel reading for the day is her meeting Jesus outside the tomb. Interestingly, the first reading is the ten commandments.
The Bible tells us only two things about Mary Magdalene. The first is that she was a sinner and the second is that she was the very first person to see Jesus after his resurrection. And that's it. Everything else that has been said of her is either well-meaning popular piety or wacky superstition.
There is a certain strain of gnostic thought that takes offense at efforts to identify Mary Magdalene with adultery and/or prostitution and this school of thought dresses their objections up in feminist garb. They claim that these things are meant to diminish her as compared to the male apostles.
It's hard to see as Mary Magdalene was at the tomb because the male apostles were all in hiding having run away in fear at the crucifixion.
But is there anything about being a sinner that would diminish her? Isn't it the height of misogyny to assume that she (or any other woman) would be diminished or tainted forever by sexual sin?
And isn't it telling that Jesus would choose a sinner—as opposed to a virgin or a martyr—for the singular honour he chose for Mary Magdalen?
Do make some Madeleines in her honour today. There are a lot of good recipes out there so I won't provide one but whatever recipe you use, do do two things to it. First add a tablespoon or so of flour to some butter and then melt and brown the butter and use this mixture, applied with a pastry brush, to line your Madeleine tin. Second of all, add a little Orange flower water to the mixture to add some depth and fragrance to the cookies.
Proust, by the way, chose the Madeleine because it was an ordinary thing. He almost used toast instead. Nowadays we treat Madeleines as something exotic and unusual but they were as ordinary in Proust's era as toaster waffles are today and as ordinary as being a sinner in any era.
Not surprisingly, the Gospel reading for the day is her meeting Jesus outside the tomb. Interestingly, the first reading is the ten commandments.
The Bible tells us only two things about Mary Magdalene. The first is that she was a sinner and the second is that she was the very first person to see Jesus after his resurrection. And that's it. Everything else that has been said of her is either well-meaning popular piety or wacky superstition.
There is a certain strain of gnostic thought that takes offense at efforts to identify Mary Magdalene with adultery and/or prostitution and this school of thought dresses their objections up in feminist garb. They claim that these things are meant to diminish her as compared to the male apostles.
It's hard to see as Mary Magdalene was at the tomb because the male apostles were all in hiding having run away in fear at the crucifixion.
But is there anything about being a sinner that would diminish her? Isn't it the height of misogyny to assume that she (or any other woman) would be diminished or tainted forever by sexual sin?
And isn't it telling that Jesus would choose a sinner—as opposed to a virgin or a martyr—for the singular honour he chose for Mary Magdalen?
Do make some Madeleines in her honour today. There are a lot of good recipes out there so I won't provide one but whatever recipe you use, do do two things to it. First add a tablespoon or so of flour to some butter and then melt and brown the butter and use this mixture, applied with a pastry brush, to line your Madeleine tin. Second of all, add a little Orange flower water to the mixture to add some depth and fragrance to the cookies.
Proust, by the way, chose the Madeleine because it was an ordinary thing. He almost used toast instead. Nowadays we treat Madeleines as something exotic and unusual but they were as ordinary in Proust's era as toaster waffles are today and as ordinary as being a sinner in any era.
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