Mary Magdalene was a powerful woman who understood the importance of merging her humanity with her divinity. The way to do this, she taught, was to go within one’s own heart.
The Heart is the gateway to true love. To love oneself is to recognize the divine as the source of one’s being. It’s not about being “perfect,” or doing things “right.” There are no conditions, because nothing impedes divine love. The only way to know this love is to access it within one’s very own being.
Magdalene said that it is in the silence that we hear. Spending time listening to oneself is a form of holy communion. Her path is a path of inner knowing. She takes us through inner worlds of initiation in order to remove the barriers to self-acceptance.
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene was discovered in Cairo, Egypt in 1896. Its translation from Sahidic Coptic to French wasn’t completed until 1955 by Jean Yves-Leloup. It took the discovery of other hidden gospels to ignite the revealing of her own. Her voice – and that of all women – has long been denied.
The very idea that a woman could be in a position of authority, especially spiritual authority, was flatly denied. Only men were allowed to rule. Yet her gospel survived, and so has her legend.
Unfortunately, the Catholic Church attempted to cover up her true message because it interfered with the male hierarchy in place. Magdalene is commonly portrayed as a “penitent prostitute” based on a false accusation made by Pope Gregory I in 591 A.D.
The Church apologized for its “mistake” in 1969, a mere 1500 years too late. There is not a single reference to Magdalene as a prostitute anywhere in the Bible. She was
“confused” with an unnamed woman in Luke Chapter 7 before Magdalene was introduced as a character in Chapter 8.
The high status she held during her lifetime is described in her gospel. The canonical gospels (those included in the Bible) and the non-canonical gospels (those deemed too “heretical” to be included) portray her as a confidante to Jesus and a teacher in her own right. She is called by John the “Apostle of the Apostles” as the first witness to the resurrection.
Afterwards, Magdalene was forced to flee Palestine for her own safety. Legends place her arriving by boat in St. Maries-de-la-Mer in Southern France. She is alleged to have taught The Way to locals who had ears to hear and eyes to see. Chapels and towers are built in her honor. An icy cold river near Rennes-le-Chateau is infamous for her baptisms.
She may have lived the last 30 years of her life communing with the earth in the mountain range of La Sainte Baume in Provence. It is rumored that angels lifted her daily to hear their heavenly choir.
A narrow path to the top of La Sainte Baume in Provence, France.
Magdalene has long been associated with sacred waters.
The gospels hint at Magdalene’s true role in the life of Jesus.
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