Countdown to the Feast of Mary Magdalene – Resurrecting the Magdalene Part III

This continues our countdown to the Feast of Mary Magdalene which is celebrated on July 22^nd. Here we work together to resurrect the Magdalene from 2000 years of dismissal.  Together we invite Mary Magdalene to rise from the dead – the death that was accomplished at the hands of a patriarchal and hierarchical world that could not imagine a woman as equal to the man they made into a god.

Through a re-reading of scripture, input, discussion and prayerful contemplation, we will take Mary off the cross upon which she suffered her death and restore her to her rightful place as co-equal with Christ.  Like Jesus, Mary became fully self-actualized, living by and for the purpose of Love, and is now showing us how to do the same.

Read Part I HERE, and Part II HERE.

 

Scripture/Meditation Exercise I

Read the following scripture passage as if it is Mary Magdalene speaking these words.  As you are reading, look for a word or phrase that jumps out at you.  Allow yourself to receive this word/phrase as the Divine’s nourishment, guidance, instruction or comfort.  Repeat that word or phrase in your mind over and over and over as a mantra, allowing the word/phrase to lead you into a deep and peaceful state.  Reflect on what that word/phrase is saying to you.  After spending 10-20 minutes with that word/phrase, record your thoughts and reflections in your notebook or journal.  After writing, enjoy a few minutes of silence, simply allowing your meditation to take deeper root in you.

The Divine has given me
a well-trained tongue,
That I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
Our Mother/Father God opens my ear that I may hear;
And I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled my hair and tore my clothes;
My face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.

The Mother and Father are my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
The Divine is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let him confront me.
See, the Mother and Father are my help;
who will prove me wrong?

IS 50: 4-9a

Scripture/Meditation Exercise II

Read through the scripture passage below one or two times.  Imagine the Magdalene proclaiming these words to the God of her understanding.  How did Mary’s God respond to her?  Now, allow these words to become your words to the Divine of your understanding.  While kneeling or standing, proclaim these words aloud as your prayerful request to the Divine of your understanding.  Allow your God to answer you.  Write His/Her/Their answer in your notebook or journal.

1. Mother, in your great love, answer me.
   For your sake I bear insult,
   and shame covers my face.
   I have become an outcast to my sisters,
   a stranger to my father’s sons,
   because zeal for your house consumes me,
   and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
   R. Mother, in your great love, answer me.
   Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak,
   I looked for sympathy, but there was none;
   for consolers, not one could I find.
   Rather they put gall in my food,
   and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
   R. Mother, in your great love, answer me.
   I will praise the name of The Mother in song,
   and I will glorify Her with thanksgiving:
   “See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
   you who seek The Divine, may your hearts revive!
   For the Mother hears the poor,
   and Her own who are in bonds She spurns not.”
   R. Mother, in your great love, answer me.

Ps 69: 8-10, 21-22, 31, 33-34