Of the earlier life of Mary Magdalene we know only that she was “a woman who was a sinner.” From the depth of her degradation she raised her eyes to Jesus with sorrow, hope, and love. She said not a word, but bathed His feet with her tears, wiped them with the hair of her head, kissed them in humility, and at their touch her sins and her stain were gone. Jesus’ own divine lips gave her absolution and bade her go in peace. She stood with Our Lady and St. John at the foot of the Cross, the representative of the many who have had much forgiven.
To her first, after His blessed Mother, and through her to His apostles, Our Lord gave the certainty and witness of His resurrection. To her first He made Himself known, calling her by her name, because she was His friend. The cave in which St. Mary lived for thirty years is still seen, and the chapel on the mountain-top, in which she was caught up daily, like St. Paul, into “visions and revelations of the Lord.” When her end drew near she was drawn to a spot still marked by a “sacred pillar,” where the holy Bishop Maximin awaited her, and when she had received her Lord, she peacefully fell asleep in death
Miracle Prayer to St. Mary Magdalene