Category: PATRONAGE – PENITENTS

Posted in Of PILGRIMS, PATRONAGE - PENITENTS, PATRONAGE - PRISONERS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 19 April – Blessed Bernard of Sithiu (Died 1182) Layman Penitent

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Saint of the Day – 19 April – Blessed Bernard of Sithiu (Died 1182) Layman Penitent, Pilgrim, Hermit Died on 19 April 1182 in the Monastery of Saint-Bertin, Thérouanne region, France of natural causes. Patronages – of sinners, convicts, prisoners, penitents, pilgrims. Also known as – Bernard of Maguellone, Bernard the Penitent, Bernard the Pilgrim.

The Roman Martyrology: “At the Monastery of Saint-Bertin in the territory of France in Thérouanne, lies the tomb of Blessed Bernard, penitent, who, eager to atone for the sins of his youth with an austere penitence, voluntarily chose exile and, barefooted, wearing rough garments, was a tireless pilgrim to the holy places.”

Like St Nicholas of Trani, St Benedict Joseph Labre, St Rocco and several others this Saint lived as an itinerant pilgrim to the Shrines of Europe.

The few reports received about the life of Blessed Bernard of Sithiu are those handed down in the writings of John of Sithiu, Abbot in 1187, a source of extraordinary interest. There is also the Office composed in his honour and in 1465, an inventory of his remains are cited, “relics of St Bernard, Penitent. “

From such documents and testimonies, we discover that Bernard, following a murder, was ordered to make a pilgrimage of atonement.

After wandering far and wide for a long time, he finally settled near the former town of Sithiu, where, for four years he lived in poverty and deprivation. He prayed and fasted incessantly and endured the elements, as well as many other trials and sufferings. He became a very saintly man in love with God and self-renunciation. Finally dying on 19 April 1182.

The fame for holiness which was gained in life, was later confirmed after death, by many miracles occurring at his tomb.

Posted in Of a Holy DEATH & AGAINST A SUDDEN DEATH, of the DYING, FINAL PERSEVERANCE, DEATH of CHILDREN, DEATH of PARENTS, PATRONAGE - PENITENTS, PATRONAGE - PRISONERS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 25 March – Saint Dismas “The Good Thief

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 25 March – Saint Dismas “The Good Thief” the first Saint – crucified alongside Jesus Christ in 33. Patronages – condemned prisoners, all prisoners, dying people, funeral directors, penitents, penitent criminals, prison chaplains, prisoners, prisons, reformed thieves, undertakers, Przemysl, Poland, Archdiocese of, Merizo, Guam. Also known as The Penitent Thief, The Good Thief on the Cross, Demas, Desmas, Dimas, Dysmas, Rach, Titus, Zoatham.

The Roman Martyrology, on the 25th of March, makes mention of the Good Thief, who, according to tradition, is called Dismas, in the following words:

“At Jerusalem, on this day, is the Feast of the Good Thief, who acknowledged Christ on the Cross and from Him, deserved to hear the words: ‘This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.“

The sudden change and conversion, for Dismas from a sinner, became a penitent and Saint, has been rightly attributed to the prayers of our Blessed Lady. Mary, say the holy Fathers, who had obtained the soul of the malefactor, as a recompense of her sorrows and the price of her compassion.

Saint Peter Damien assures us, that Mary prayed for the thief who was on the right side of the Cross, on which side she also stood and exhorted him, to hope in Jesus and to do penance.

Saint Anselm, in a treatise on the youth of Jesus, relates the following incident about the early years of Saint Dismas, which he says is a pious legend:

“Dismas was living in a forest on the confines of Egypt, when Mary went thither with the Child Jesus, to escape the rage of Herod. He was a highwayman and the son of the chief of a band of robbers.
One day, as he lay in ambush, he saw a man, a young woman and a little Child approaching, from whom he rightly expected no opposition.
Therefore, he went towards them, with his comrades, with the intention to ill-treat them.
But he was at once so charmed with the supernatural beauty and grace which shone on the countenance of Jesus, that instead of doing them harm, he gave them hospitality in the cave which he inhabited and made ready for them, everything of which they stood in need.
Mary was grateful for the tenderness and care, which the robber bestowed on her Beloved Son and warmly thanking him, she assured him that he would be rewarded before his death.
This promise was fulfilled later, when Dismas was crucified with the Saviour of the World and obtained the grace of repentance in his last hour, openly confessing Jesus Christ’s Divinity.
When the Apostles had fled, he had the happiness of receiving the first fruits of the Redeemer’s Sacrifice and soon after, entered the Heavenly Kingdom with his Saviour.”

Dismas is considered the Patron of penitents and is especially invoked for the conversion of hardened and obstinate criminals and sinners.

The Church has indeed sanctioned the veneration given to this Saint, with a most beautiful Office, in his honour.

Posted in FRANCISCAN OFM, MISSIONS, MISSIONARIES, PATRONAGE - PENITENTS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 31 October – Blessed Thomas Bellacci TOSF (1370-1447)

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Saint of the Day – 31 October – Blessed Thomas Bellacci TOSF (1370-1447) Lay Friar of the Third Order of St Francis, Penitent, Confessor, renowned Missionary Preacher, Papal legate – born as Tommaso in 1370 at Florence, Italy and died on 31 October 1447 in Rieti, Italy of natural causes. Patronages – butchers, penitents, missionaries. He is also known as Thomas of Florence, Tommaso Bellacci. Blessed Thomas is venerated by the Franciscans on 25 October.

Bellacci was a butcher and became a religious after turning his life around from one of sin to one of penance and servitude to God. He travelled across the Middle East and the Italian peninsula to preach the Gospel and against heresies. He drew many young men to follow in his path of penitence.

Tommaso Bellacci was born in Florence in 1370 in the neighbourhood of the Ponte alle Grazie. His parents came from Castello di Linari in Val d’Elsa. His father was a butcher. He got into a good deal of trouble on various occasions during his youth and led such a wild and dissolute life as an adolescent, that parents warned their sons to keep their distance from him. Persuaded by a friend to change his ways, he tried to enter some religious order but found strong resistance to being accepted. He became a butcher like his father.

Bellacci was accused of having committed a serious crime in 1400, which, in fact he had not committed and so, he wandered the streets of Florence in great turmoil and fear, until he met a Priest who listened to his story, took him in and helped clear his name. The incident shocked him so much – coupled with his great gratitude to the Priest – that he shed his life of sin and decided to live a life of total penance and service to God. He joined the Third Order of Saint Francis in Fiesole under the spiritual guidance of Friar Giovanni da Stronconio. He entered as a lay brother Friar and became noted for keeping vigils and fasting. He was known for his diet of water and vegetables.

So great was Thomas’ adherence to the literal interpretation and implementation of the Franciscan Rule, that he was made the Novice Master, despite the fact that he was not a Priest. In this role, he led by example. He became part of the Observant reform and in 1414 accompanied another Friar to Naples to introduce the Observant practice in the Franciscan houses there. He remained in Naples for six years, preaching and helping to spread the reform.

After his sojourn and work in Naples, Thomas founded Monasteries in Corscia. Pope Martin V called him to preach in the northern cities against the “Fraticelli” who were a group of heretical Franciscans and was also made Vicar General at the Pope’s behest. In 1438, he and Albert Berdini of Sarteano were sent to the Middle East to cities such as Damascus and Cairo in order to promote the reunification of the Eastern and Western Churches when he was over 70. Alberto had to return home due to his ill health which left Bellacci to continue the mission alone.

He attempted to travel to Ethiopia but the Turks captured him three times. The Florentine merchants helped to secure his release twice. The third time he was again captured and suffered enslavement and persecution for several years, by now, he was perhaps in his eighties. Pope Eugene IV helped secure his release. He returned home in 1444 and spent his time in a Convent in Abruzzo until he died in 1446.

Nevertheless, Thomas still wished to return to the Orient but he died in Rieti while on a visit to Rome to request the Pope’s permission to return there.

Thomas was Beatified by Pope Clement XIV in 1771.

Posted in DOCTORS, / SURGEONS / MIDWIVES., Of BEGGARS, the POOR, against POVERTY, PATRONAGE - MENTAL ILLNESS, PATRONAGE - PENITENTS, PATRONAGE - TERTIARIES, SAINT of the DAY, Spinsters - Single LAYWOMEN

Saint of the Day – 22 February – St Margaret of Cortona TOSF (1247–1297)

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Saint of the Day – 22 February – St Margaret of Cortona TOSF (1247–1297) Penitent, Franciscan Tertiary, Mystic, Apostle of Charity, Founder of a charitable Lay Apostolate and an Order of Sisters – born in 1247 at Loviano, Tuscany, Italy and died on 22 February 1297 at Cortona, Italy of natural causes.   Patronages – against insanity or mental illness, against sexual temptation, against temptations, of falsely accused people, beggars and homeless people, against the death of parents, stepchildren, midwives, penitent women, people ridiculed for their piety, reformed prostitutes, single laywomen, tertiaries, Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro, Italy, Diocese of, Cortona, Italy, Diocese of, Cortona, Italy.snip st margaret

Margaret was born of farming parents, in Laviano, a little town in the diocese of Chiusi.  At the age of seven, Margaret’s mother died and her father remarried.   Stepmother and stepdaughter did not like each other.   As she grew older, Margaret became more wilful and reckless and her reputation in the town suffered.   At the age of 17 she met a young man, according to some accounts, the son of Gugliemo di Pecora, lord of Valiano and she ran away with him.   Soon Margaret found herself installed in the castle, not as her master’s wife, for convention would never allow that but as his mistress, which was more easily condoned.    For ten years, she lived with him near Montepulciano and bore him a son.

When her lover failed to return home from a journey one day, Margaret became concerned.   The unaccompanied return of his favourite hound alarmed Margaret and the hound led her into the forest to his murdered body.

That crime shocked Margaret into a life of prayer and penance.    Margaret returned to his family all the gifts he had given her and left his home.   With her child, she returned to her father’s house but her stepmother would not have her.   Margaret and her son then went to the Franciscan friars at Cortona, where her son eventually became a friar.   She fasted, avoided meat and subsisted on bread and vegetables.36952739804_18fa72f735_b.jpg

In 1277, after three years of probation, Saint Margaret joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and chose to live in poverty.   Following the example of St Francis of Assisi, she begged for sustenance and bread.   She pursued a life of prayer and penance at Cortona and there established a hospital for the sick, homeless and impoverished.   To secure nurses for the hospital, she instituted a congregation of Tertiary Sisters, known as “le poverelle” (Italian for “the little poor ones”).italian-school-roman-(17)-saint-margaret-of-cortona-kneeling-before-a-crucifix

While in prayer, Margaret heard the words, “What is your wish, poverella?” (“little poor one?”) and she replied, “I neither seek nor wish for anything but You, my Lord Jesus.”   She also established an order devoted to Our Lady of Mercy and the members bound themselves to support the hospital and to help the needy.Giovanni-Lanfranco-Ecstasy-of-St-Margaret-of-Cortona-2-

On several occasions, St Margaret participated in public affairs.   Twice, following divine command, she challenged the Bishop of Arezzo, Guglielmo Ubertini Pazzi, in whose diocese Cortona lay, because he lived and warred like a prince.   She moved to the ruined Church of St Basil, now Santa Margherita and spent her remaining years there, she died on 22 February 1297.Calvi_J._A._Estasi_di_santa_Margherita.jpg

After her death, the Church of Santa Margherita in Cortona was rebuilt in her honour.  In the church of Santa Margherita you can view her incorrupt body of Saint Margaret. Hundreds of reports of miracles, both physical and spiritual, were reported by those who come here to venerate her.   Saint Margaret was Canonised by Pope Benedict XIII on 16 May 1728.Cortona-bodyof-st-margaret-of-cortona.jpg

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Posted in ALTAR BOYS, DEACONS, SACRISTANS, BREWERS, BRIDES and GROOMS, ENGAGED COUPLES, Of BACHELORS, Of BANKERS, Of BEGGARS, the POOR, against POVERTY, Of Catholic Education, Students, Schools, Colleges etc, Of FISHERMEN, FISHMONGERS, Of GARDENERS, Horticulturists, Farmers, Of LAWYERS & CANON Lawyers, Attorneys, Solicitors, Barristers, Notaries, Para-Legals, Of PHARMACISTS / CHEMISTS, Of TRAVELLERS / MOTORISTS, PATRONAGE - HAPPY MARRIAGES, of MARRIED COUPLES, PATRONAGE - ORPHANS,ABANDONED CHILDREN, PATRONAGE - PENITENTS, PATRONAGE - PRISONERS, PATRONAGE - VINTNERS, WINE-FARMERS, PATRONAGE-INFERTILITY & SAFE CHILDBIRTH, SAILORS, MARINERS, NAVIGATORS, SAINT of the DAY, Spinsters - Single LAYWOMEN

Saint of the Day – 6 December – St Nicholas (270-343) Bishop

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 6 December – St Nicholas (270-343) Bishop

The absence of the “hard facts” of history is not necessarily an obstacle to the popularity of saints, as the devotion to Saint Nicholas shows.   Both the Eastern and Western Churches honour him and it is claimed that after the Blessed Virgin, he is the saint most pictured by Christian artists.   And yet historically, we can pinpoint only the fact that Nicholas was the fourth-century bishop of Myra, a city in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor.st nicholas - Jaroslav_Čermák_(1831_-_1878)_-_Sv._Mikuláš.jpg

As with many of the saints, however, we are able to capture the relationship which Nicholas had with God through the admiration which Christians have had for him—an admiration expressed in the colourful stories which have been told and retold through the centuries.

Perhaps the best-known story about Nicholas concerns his charity toward a poor man who was unable to provide dowries for his three daughters of marriageable age.   Rather than see them forced into prostitution, Nicholas secretly tossed a bag of gold through the poor man’s window on three separate occasions, thus enabling the daughters to be married.   Over the centuries, this particular legend evolved into the custom of gift-giving on the saint’s feast.

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Fra Angelico’s St Nicholas donating the dowries

In the English-speaking countries, Saint Nicholas became, by a twist of the tongue, Santa Claus—further expanding the example of generosity portrayed by this holy bishop.saint-nicholas4st nicholas - glass

Posted in ADVENT, Against STORMS, EARTHQUAKES, THUNDER & LIGHTENING, FIRES, DROUGHT / NATURAL DISASTERS, ALTAR BOYS, DEACONS, SACRISTANS, BREWERS, BRIDES and GROOMS, CHEFS and/or BAKERS, CONFECTIONERS, MORNING Prayers, Of BACHELORS, Of BANKERS, Of BEGGARS, the POOR, against POVERTY, Of Catholic Education, Students, Schools, Colleges etc, Of FISHERMEN, FISHMONGERS, Of GARDENERS, Horticulturists, Farmers, Of LAWYERS & CANON Lawyers, Attorneys, Solicitors, Barristers, Notaries, Para-Legals, Of PHARMACISTS / CHEMISTS, Of TRAVELLERS / MOTORISTS, ON the SAINTS, PATRONAGE - HAPPY MARRIAGES, of MARRIED COUPLES, PATRONAGE - ORPHANS,ABANDONED CHILDREN, PATRONAGE - PENITENTS, PATRONAGE - PRISONERS, PATRONAGE - VINTNERS, WINE-FARMERS, PATRONAGE-INFERTILITY & SAFE CHILDBIRTH, SAILORS, MARINERS, NAVIGATORS, SAINT of the DAY, Spinsters - Single LAYWOMEN

Saint of the Day – 6 December – St Nicholas (270-343)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 6 December – St Nicholas (270-343)  Confessor, Bishop, Miracle-Worker, Apostle of Charity.   Also known as – • Nicholas of Bari• Nicholas of Lpnenskij • Nicholas of Lipno • Nicholas of Sarajskij • Nicholas the Miracle Worker • Klaus, Mikulas, Nikolai, Nicolaas, Nicolas, Niklaas, Niklas. Nikolaus, Santa Claus.   st nicholas header

Patronages -• against fire • against imprisonment • against robberies • against robbers • against storms at sea • against sterility • against thefts • altar servers • archers • boys • brides • captives • children • choir boys • happy marriages • lawsuits lost unjustly • lovers • maidens • penitent murderers • newlyweds • paupers • pilgrims • poor people • prisoners • scholars • schoolchildren, students • penitent thieves • travellers • unmarried girls • apothecaries • bakers • bankers • barrel makers • boatmen • boot blacks • brewers • butchers • button makers • candle makers • chair makers • cloth shearers • coopers • dock workers • educators • farm workers, farmers • firefighters • fish mongers • fishermen • grain merchants • grocers • grooms • hoteliers • innkeepers • judges • lace merchants • lawyers • linen merchants • longshoremen • mariners • merchants • millers • notaries • parish clerks • pawnbrokers • perfumeries • perfumers • poets • ribbon weavers • sailors • ship owners • shoe shiners • soldiers • spice merchants • spinners • stone masons • tape weavers  • toy makers • vintners • watermen • weavers • Greek Catholic Church in America • Greek Catholic Union • Varangian Guard • Germany • Greece • Russia • 3 Diocese • 78 Cities.

Attributes – • anchor • bishop calming a storm • bishop holding three bags of gold • bishop holding three balls • bishop with three children • bishop with three children in a tub at his feet • purse • ship • three bags of gold • three balls • three golden balls on a book • boy in a boat.   Saint Nicholas’ reputation evolved among the faithful, as was common for early Christian saints and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus through Sinterklaas.   St Nicholas was generous to the poor and special protector of the innocent and wronged.   Many stories grew up around him prior to his becoming associated with Santa Claus.

Some examples of the Miracles of St Nicholas and the reasons for various Patronages:

• Upon hearing that a local man had fallen on such hard times that he was planning to sell his daughters into prostitution, Nicholas went by night to the house and threw three bags of gold in through the window, saving the girls from an evil life.   These three bags, gold generously given in time of trouble, became the three golden balls that indicate a pawn broker’s shop.

• He raised to life three young boys who had been murdered and pickled in a barrel of brine to hide the crime.   These stories led to his patronage of children in general and of barrel-makers besides.

• Induced some thieves to return their plunder.   This explains his protection against theft and robbery and his patronage of them – he’s not helping them steal but to repent and change.   In the past, thieves have been known as Saint Nicholas’ clerks or Knights of Saint Nicholas.

• During a voyage to the Holy Lands, a fierce storm blew up, threatening the ship.   He prayed about it and the storm calmed – hence the patronage of sailors and those like dockworkers who work on the sea.

St Nicholas died in 346 at Myra, Lycia (in modern Turkey) of natural causes and his  relics are believed to be at Bari, Italy.bari-shrine3-detail

Here is the story of St Nicholas by Prosper Dom Gueranger:

Nicholas was born in the celebrated city of Patara, in the province of Lycia.   His birth was the fruit of his parents’ prayers.  Evidences of his great future holiness were given from his very cradle.   For when he was an infant, he would only take his food once on Wednesdays and Fridays and then not till evening but on all other days he frequently took the breast:  he kept up this custom of fasting during the rest of his life.

Having lost his parents when he was a boy, he gave all his goods to the poor.   Of his Christian kindheartedness there is the following noble example.   One of his fellow-citizens had three daughters but being too poor to obtain them an honourable marriage, he was minded to abandon them to a life of prostitution.   Nicholas having learned of the case, went to the house during the night and threw in by the window a sum of money sufficient for the dower of one of the daughters;  he did the same a second and a third time and thus the three were married to respectable men.

Having given himself wholly to the service of God, he set out for Palestine, that he might visit and venerate the holy places.   During this pilgrimage, which he made by sea, he foretold to the mariners, on embarking, though the heavens were then serene and the sea tranquil, that they would be overtaken by a frightful storm.   In a very short time, the storm arose.   All were in the most imminent danger, when he quelled it by his prayers.

His pilgrimage ended, he returned home, giving to all men example of the greatest sanctity.   He went, by an inspiration from God, to Myra, the Metropolis of Lycia,which had just lost its Bishop by death and the Bishops of the province had come together for the purpose of electing a successor.   Whilst they were holding council for the election, they were told by a revelation from heaven, that they should choose him who, on the morrow, should be the first to enter the church, his name being Nicholas.   Accordingly, the requisite observations were made, when they found Nicholas to be waiting at the church door:  they took him and, to the incredible delight of all, made him the Bishop of Myra.

During his episcopate, he never flagged in the virtues looked for in a bishop;  chastity, which indeed he had always preserved, gravity, assiduity in prayer, watchings, abstinence, generosity and hospitality, meekness in exhortation, severity in reproving. He befriended widows and orphans by money, by advice and by every service in his power.   So zealous a defender was he of all who suffered oppression, that, on one occasion, three Tribunes having been condemned by the Emperor Constantine, who had been deceived by calumny and having heard of the miracles wrought by Nicholas, they recommended themselves to his prayers, though he was living at a very great distance from that place:   the saint appeared to Constantine and angrily looking upon him, obtained from the terrified Emperor their deliverance.

Having, contrary to the edict of Dioclesian and Maximian, preached in Myra the truth of the Christian faith, he was taken up by the servants of the two Emperors.  He was taken off to a great distance and thrown into prison, where he remained until Constantine, having become Emperor, ordered his rescue and the Saint returned to Myra.   Shortly afterwards, he repaired to the Council which was being held at Nicaea:  there he took part with the three hundred and eighteen Fathers in condemning the Arian heresy (Tradition has it that he became so angry with the heretic Arius during the Council that he struck him in the face).St Nicholas of Myra slapping Arius at the Council of Nicaea.

Scarcely had he returned to his See than he was taken with the sickness of which he soon died.   Looking up to heaven and seeing Angels coming to meet him, he began the Psalm, In thee, O Lord, have I hoped and having come to those words, Into your hands I commend my spirit, his soul took its flight to the heavenly country.   His body, having been translated to Bari in Apulia, is the object of universal veneration.

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For St Nicholas traditional biscuits see here:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/st-nicholas-6-december/

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, PATRONAGE - PENITENTS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 22 July – The Feast of St Mary of Magdala – “Apostle to the Apostles”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 22 July – The Feast of St Mary of Magdala – “Apostle to the Apostles” (born probably in Magdala – died at an unknown date possibly in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France, or Ephesus, Asia Minor).   Patronages – against sexual temptation, apothecaries, druggists, pharmacists, contemplative life, contemplatives, converts, glove makers, hairdressers, penitent sinners, penitent women, people ridiculed for their piety, perfumeries, reformed prostitutes, tanners, women, Diocese of Salt Lake City, Utah, 8 cities.    During the Middle Ages, Mary Magdalene was regarded in Western Christianity as a repentant prostitute or promiscuous woman, claims not found in any of the four canonical gospels.mary magdalene.jpg Header

Mary Magdalene was one of Christ’s disciples.   She has been identified with several Marys in the Gospel – Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus;  Mary, the sinner who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears;  Mary, a woman who cared for Jesus and his apostles on their journey.   Today scholars believe that Mary Magdalene was not the sinful woman in Scripture although she has been confused with this unnamed woman for centuries.   Except for the mother of Jesus, few women are more honoured in the Bible than Mary Magdalene.   Yet she could well be the patron of the slandered, since there has been a persistent legend in the Church that she is the unnamed sinful woman who anointed the feet of Jesus in Luke 7:36-50.st mary magdalene

Most Scripture scholars today point out that there is no scriptural basis for confusing the two women.   Mary Magdalene, that is, “of Magdala,” was the one from whom Christ cast out “seven demons” (Luke 8:2)—an indication at the worst, of extreme demonic possession or possibly, severe illness.marymag

Writing in the New Catholic Commentary, Father Wilfrid J Harrington, OP, says that “seven demons” “does not mean that Mary had lived an immoral life—a conclusion reached only by means of a mistaken identification with the anonymous woman of Luke 7:36.”   In the Jerome Biblical Commentary, Father Edward Mally, SJ, agrees that she “is not…the same as the sinner of Luke 7:37, despite the later Western romantic tradition about her.”Carlo_Dolci_-_St_Mary_Magdalene_-_WGA6377

Mary Magdalene was one of the many “who were assisting them [Jesus and the Twelve] out of their means.”   She was not the sister of Martha and Lazarus!   She was one of those who stood by the Cross of Jesus with his mother.   And, of all the “official” witnesses who might have been chosen for the first awareness of the Resurrection, she was the one to whom that privilege was given.at the foot of the cross - mary sorrows mother of sorrows james tissot

Matthew, Mark, and John record that Mary of Magdala was present at the Crucifixion of Jesus and that she was among the women who visited the Tomb on Easter morning.   Luke mentions her presence only at the Tomb on Easter.    According to John, Mary was specially privileged to see and speak to the risen Lord on Easter morning.   She thought He was the gardener until he said her name.WOMEN AT THE EMPTY TOMB READY600px-Jesus_Appears_to_the_Holy_Women_at the tomb - james tissotmary-magdalene at the empty tomb - giovanni-gerolamo-savoldo

So Mary Magdalene was near Jesus in His darkest hour and again in His most glorious hour.   Moreover, she was an outstanding disciple of Jesus.   Because Mary Magdalene was the one who brought the news of Jesus’ Resurrection to the apostles, she is called the Apostle to the Apostles.st-mary-magdalene-and-christ-antonio-correggio

resurrected christ with mary magdalene

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