Mary of Magdala (Magdalene)

Drawing of Mary of Magdala (Magdalene) by Lorenzo Ferri Salton the indications of Maria Valtorta. Source: documentary collection of the Maria Valtorta Heritage Foundation.

Miriam, familiarly nicknamed "Miri" by her sister Martha, was born in Antioch of Syria around the year 4, to a Syrian father, Theophilus, ethnarch of the province, and Eucheria of Theophilus, a Judean of the royal line of David.

Her dissolute youth

In Jerusalem, where her parents settled, she soon caused a Scandal:

"Barely pubescent she showed herself to be loose. But, for four years!!!" reports Judas.

After her divorce, she lived a dissolute life in Magdala, on the estate she inherited from her parents, who died of grief, and in Tiberias. There, she burned her life in the company of successive lovers, and one of them was driven to murder by jealousy. Jesus saved the victim because of his Wife and his children.

This permanent Scandal also reflected badly on Lazarus, her older brother. He deserted his palace in Zion, Jerusalem, to take refuge at the property of their sister Martha, in Bethany. She also suffered the backlash of Mary Magdalene’s dissolute life and remained single, because "One does not marry the sister of a courtesan."

Her path of conversion

But the encounters with Jesus — including the provocative one at the Sermon on the Mount — and certain dramatic events, including the murder she caused, brought her to change. It was for her, who listened hidden behind a low wall, that Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep.:

"Jesus never turned to look toward the path behind Him by which Mary of Magdala (Magdalene) arrived, still very elegant, but (...) covered with a dark veil hiding her features and form.
But when Jesus arrived at these words: 'I have found you, my beloved', Mary passed her hand under her veil and wept softly and continuously. People did not see her because she was beyond the embankment along the road. Only the moon, now high, and the Spirit of Jesus could see her..."

Her conversion occurred after violent inner struggles, reflecting her passionate Woman nature. She rushed to Simon the Pharisee, where Jesus was dining. She wiped the tears of repentance she shed on His feet with her Hair, then anointed them with fragrant oil.

Overwhelmed, she then took refuge in Nazareth with the Virgin Mary.

From that moment on, she joined the group of Woman-Disciples who occasionally followed the apostolic troupe and helped with their resources. Her fiery character, until then used for a dissolute life, turned to serve Jesus with the same passionate intensity: she faced the contempt of her former lovers, the growing hostility of the Sanhedrin, relived in the delirium of her dying brother Lazarus all the harm she had done:

"Rivers of tears, insults, shame, bitterness... all penetrated me and killed my life because of him... Mary (...) my sister (...) could have been a queen and she made herself mud, mud that even the pig tramples on.

And my mother died. And no longer being able to go among people without enduring their contempt. Because of her! Where are you, unhappy? (...) Go away! Disgrace of our house!"

"Mary, thrown to the ground like a rag, sobs under the relentless accusation of the dying (...)"

She asks Jesus if it is she (and her conversion) who cause these sufferings to her brother. Indeed, the sufferings and mortifications of Lazarus, accepted and offered by him to God, saved her from the Demon:

Jesus, sincere to the end, says: "Certainly Yes! (...) But this must not cause you an anxiety that weighs you down, but rather the desire to become perfect because of what you have cost. And rejoice! Rejoice because, to have you, Lazarus tore you from the demon..." "...for having torn you from the demon, he has earned from God a future reward by which the nations and the Angels will speak of him (...)"

She knows the stripping after the riches:

"I tell you what you do not know: that all the personal Goods of Mary (sister) of Lazarus belong to the servants of God and to the poor of Christ."

Jesus tells Lazarus:

"Do you know who, among my closest, has known how to change her nature to become of Christ, as Christ wants? Only one: your sister Mary. She started from complete animality and perversion to reach a spirituality angelic. And this by the sole force of love."

Her impetuosity, the strength of her love, and the social position she holds as a protégée of the Roman administration, from which her father came, make her a leading figure in the Gospel as well as in the work of Maria Valtorta.
She chooses "the better part" at the feet of Jesus, listening to his teaching and enjoying his love, while her sister Martha busies herself with the duties of hostess.:

"You are anxious and troubled about many things, Martha. There is need of only one thing for her. But it is that which will not be taken away from her spirit, and especially from her Lord who is also yours. Leave aside useless things. Imitate your sister. Mary has chosen the better part. That which will never be taken from her."

She prophesies the Passion by the anointing at Bethany, where she pours fragrant oil on the Lord's head and feet.

Lazarus' illness and death

Her loving dedication takes on full meaning through her care during the long and terrible illness of her brother. His gangrene advances inexorably. Lazarus' legs rot, emitting a nauseating odor bravely endured by Mary and Martha who care for him.

"I would not know how to resist it either," says Maria Valtorta, "so frightening and repugnant are the wounds that have formed along the varicose veins of the legs".

During the agony of her brother, just before his death, Mary underwent a painful Purification: in his delirium, Lazarus made her relive the various painful stages and consequences of her shameful past.

Jesus had entrusted to her:

"You are one of the Souls that Satan hates the most, but you are also one of the most loved by God."

Shortly before Lazarus' death, to prepare them, Jesus repeated to her and Martha:

"I tell you to know how to hope and To Believe despite all contrary reality."

Despite the insinuations of Enemies of Jesus to make her doubt, at her brother's funeral she proclaimed her faith nonetheless:

"Enough is enough! With a face bathed in tears, tortured yet faithful, in the semicircle of all gathered to see the corpse emerge, Mary proclaims: 'If Jesus of Nazareth acted thus, it is Good, and it is a great love of His for all of us from Bethany. All for the glory of God and His own! He said that from this there will come glory for the Lord because the power of His Word will shine fully. Execute, Maximin (his burial). The tomb is not an obstacle to the power of God...'

Passion and Resurrection of Jesus

Impetuous, she stood up to the Sanhedrin at Golgotha by her sole authority, the same that sustains the courage of the Woman Disciples in the troubled hours following the death of Jesus.
On Resurrection Sunday, she was the first to see the empty tomb. All her love finally bursts forth in her affectionate cry greeting the resurrected Jesus:

"Rabbouni!"

She was also one of the first people to go venerate Golgotha after the Passion of Jesus:

"There is already someone who has preceded you there," says the risen Jesus to his fearful Apostles without fear of mockery and revenge, without fear of contamination. And yet, the one who preceded you had double reason to fear that."

Jesus had prophesied the hermit end of Mary of Magdala (Magdalene):

"There is no other way for you, Mary, than love. Indeed, whatever path you take, it will always be love. Love if you serve in my name. Love if you evangelize. Love if you isolate yourself. Love if you martyr yourself. Love if you allow yourself to be martyred. You only know how to love, Mary. It is your nature."

In this same dialogue, Mary of Magdala (Magdalene) wishes to be martyred by love. It is granted:

"What Grace to die of love for You!"

The end of Mary Magdalene’s life

The persecutions Against Christians increased with the advent of Herod Agrippa I and the Family of Bethany went into exile:

"... with extreme sorrow, they left here to bring elsewhere the divine Word which here would have been stifled by the Jews."

This supports the well-established tradition of their exile in Gaul: Lazarus in Marseille, Martha in Tarascon, Mary in Sainte-Baume and their steward Maximin in the city bearing his name.

Moreover, in a vision reported in the Notebooks 1944, Maria Valtorta sees the death of Mary Magdalene in a cave that seems to be that of Sainte Baume (Provence). Jesus confirms that it is located in France. She died around the year 80 AD, probably at about the Age of 75.

It is supposed that the end of her life was lived in pain if one believes this phrase of Jesus to Maria Valtorta:

"Then will come the day when I say as to the dying Mary of Magdala (Magdalene): Rest. It is time for you to rest. Give me your thorns. It is time for roses. Rest and wait."

This path ends in final bliss:

"Mary, a good servant to Me. Today more than yesterday. Tomorrow more than today. Until I tell you: Enough, Mary. It is time for your rest."

- "It is said, Lord," Mary Magdalene replies. "I would want you to Call me then. As you Called my brother out of the tomb. Oh! Call me, You, out of life!"

- "No, not out of life," says Jesus. "I will Call you to Life, to true life. I will Call you out of the tomb that is flesh and Earth. I will Call you to the Weddings of your Soul with your Lord."

Character and appearance

Mary is about 23 years old when she crosses paths with Jesus in Galilee in the company of some revelers. She is tall, blonde, with "braids as thick as the arm, reaching down to the knees." Her contralto voice, passionate and warm, matches her fiery character. Her beauty is enhanced by a very lively gaze, splendid eyes and hands. Her physiognomy resembles that of her mother, a saint, according to those who knew her.

The two reconstructed portraits below show interpretive differences: the Face of Mary of Magdala (Magdalene) reconstructed by Brazilian researchers through photogrammetry of her relic at Saint-Maximin, is depicted as brunette with brown eyes. The one realized by Lorenzo Ferri following the indications of Maria Valtorta is blonde with blue eyes.

Apart from these differences, one cannot but be struck by the similarities: round face, prominent cheekbones, similar nose, shapes of eyes, mouth, and eyebrows. Doubtless, the relic of the basilica of Saint-Maximin (Provence, France) is the well-authenticated relic of the face of Mary of Magdala (Magdalene), the one who saw the resurrected Christ at the tomb. A fusion of the two reconstructions would reveal even more the authentic face.

Her name

In Hebrew Miriâm מרים.

This widespread name can signify bitterness or "the exalted one," "Prophetess" or the feminine of "Lord." Christian tradition plays, especially for the Virgin Mary, on the connection with "mar yam," drop of sea Water, translated into Latin by the term Stella Maris, the star of the sea.

Where is she mentioned in the work?

GRM 14 GRM 98
GRM 112 GRM 116 GRM 117 GRM 135 GRM 136 GRM 158 GRM 174 GRM 183 GRM 184
GRM 226 GRM 229 GRM 231 GRM 233 GRM 234 GRM 235 GRM 236 GRM 236 GRM 236 GRM 237 GRM 238 GRM 239 GRM 240 GRM 241 GRM 242 GRM 243 GRM 244 GRM 245 GRM 246 GRM 247 GRM 248 GRM 249 GRM 250 GRM 252 GRM 253 GRM 254 GRM 255 GRM 260 GRM 261 GRM 276 GRM 279 GRM 281 GRM 282 GRM 286 GRM 287 GRM 290 GRM 293 GRM 294
GRM 302 GRM 311 GRM 313 GRM 338 GRM 348 GRM 350 GRM 361 GRM 362 GRM 365 GRM 367 GRM 370 GRM 371 GRM 372 GRM 375 GRM 376 GRM 377 GRM 378
GRM 409 GRM 415 GRM 420 GRM 440 GRM 448 GRM 468 GRM 485
GRM 503 GRM 519 GRM 536 GRM 541 GRM 542 GRM 543 GRM 544 GRM 545 GRM 546 GRM 548 GRM 550 GRM 551 GRM 559 GRM 560 GRM 566 GRM 568 GRM 573 GRM 574 GRM 575 GRM 576 GRM 578 GRM 579 GRM 581 GRM 583 GRM 584 GRM 586 GRM 587 GRM 589 GRM 590 GRM 596 GRM 598 GRM 599
GRM 609 GRM 610 GRM 611 GRM 612 GRM 612 GRM 614 GRM 615 GRM 616 GRM 616 GRM 619 GRM 620 GRM 626 GRM 628 GRM 630 GRM 635 GRM 636 GRM 638 GRM 641 GRM 643 GRM 644 GRM 647 GRM 648

Learn more about this character

Extracts from the Dictionary of Gospel Characters, according to Maria Valtorta (Msgr. René Laurentin, François-Michel Debroise, Jean-François Lavère, Éditions Salvator, 2012):

Mary Magdalene is celebrated on July 22. Every year on this date, the ostentation of her Relics (her head) takes place at the Basilica of Saint-Maximin in Provence.

This fascinating figure has inspired numerous writings over time. The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine (13th century) echoes some elements taken up by Maria Valtorta: "Mary, nicknamed Magdalene, from the castle of Magdalon, was born of the most illustrious parents, since they descended from the royal lineage. Her father's name was Syrus and her mother Eucharie. Mary shared with Lazarus, her brother, and Martha, her sister, the castle of Magdalon, located two miles from Gennesaret, Bethany which is close to Jerusalem, and a large part of Jerusalem. They divided their Goods in this way: Mary received Magdalon whence she was called Magdalene, Lazarus retained what was in Jerusalem, and Martha possessed Bethany."

This same work, referring to Hegesippus, a 2nd-century historian, attests "that she came to the territory of Aix, went to a desert where she remained unknown for thirty years." From the early 5th century, John Cassian, who established a monastic community at Sainte Baume, 20 km from Saint-Maximin, confirmed this tradition.

For Anne-Catherine Emmerich, the Family of Bethany went into exile in Gaul.

According to Jean Aulagnier the presence of the saints of Bethany explains the early evangelization of Gaul which cannot be linked to any apostle contrary to other regions of the Roman Empire.

The Basilica of Saint-Maximin La Sainte Baume boasts of housing the tombs of other saints connected, according to Maria Valtorta, to the Family of Bethany: Susanna, the young wife of Cana, and one of the Women who followed Jesus, Marcella the servant of Martha, Sidonia the born-blind, and further in Provence, Sarah, one of the Woman-Disciples.

Part of the relics of Mary Magdalene, transported in the 11th century to Burgundy, to Vézelay, founded the celebrated Basilica of Sainte-Madeleine and its pilgrimages. Those of Saint-Maximin gained a renewed interest in the 13th century with the discovery of tombs lost sight of for centuries. That of Mary Magdalene was discovered in 1279 by Charles II of Anjou, nephew of King Saint Louis: its location was indicated to him by the Saint herself! With the support of Pope Boniface VII, he built a basilica and a convent on her tomb. The construction began in 1295, lasted three centuries, and saw the flourishing of the greatest Gothic building in Provence, still standing today.

Notes and references

Note: Quotations from the work of Maria Valtorta on this page currently use machine-translated text and will gradually be replaced by the official English translation. Until then, the official translation may be consulted through the reference link provided with each quotation.

Kilometres. 1 km = 0.621 miles. 1 mile = 1.609 km.