Meeting Mary Magdalene
Last month, I traveled to France for a Mary Magdalene Retreat led by Marie Diamond. It was a trip I have been waiting the past 12 years to take. All I can say is, that it was worth the wait! As I was flying into Marseille, it felt like I was coming home. Each place we visited felt like another piece of me was connected.
When you visited a place that you have never been before, perhaps you had the same experience. As we touch the earth of these places, there is a cellular memory that reawakens in us and there is a feeling of coming home. That is what it felt like for me during the entire trip.
I had known something about the life of Mary Magdalene before the trip but learned so much more by being in France where she walked and started her teachings. As our group sat on the beach where she first arrived in France, I learned that she arrived with her sister, aunt and her daughter, Sarah. We visited a cathedral built in honor of Saint Marie Jacole, Sanit Marie Salone and Saint Sara, the women who arrived in France with Mary Magdalene and began sharing her teachings.
Many of the cathedrals in southern France have images of what is known as the Black Madonna. Many have thought it was an image of Jesus’s mother, Mary, when actually it is an image of Mary Magdalene. Each image shows her holding a child on her lap, which is her son.
We spent a few days walking the streets of Marseille, visiting the cathedral and doing an intense climb to the cave where Mary Magdalene reached her Ascension. The energy of the cave was both powerful, uplifting and calming all at the same time!
The truth about Mary Magdalene and her relationship with Jesus has changed over the years since I first heard her name. I grew up in a Catholic family and, at that time, she was depicted as a prostitute who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears.
The truth about her relationship with Jesus began changing when the DaVinci Code was introduced to the world and we saw, for the first time, the true relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus. After reading the book, I started researching more about her and discovered there were gospels written by her that were excluded from the Bible.
It was refreshing to witness the churches and the cathedrals in southern France revealing her true identity and revere her as the ‘Apostles of the Apostles’. They recognize the close relationship she had with Jesus and honor her as someone who walked with him as one of his closest companions.
If you are interested in learning more about Mary Magdalene, here are a few books that will help you learn more about her: