Matt. 27:55-56, Mark 14:40-41, Matt. 28:1-9, John 20:18

Poor Mary Magdalene. St. Gregory the Great ruined her reputation suggesting she was a prostitute. Scholars have since rejected his thesis, and today Mary Magdalene is seen as one of Jesus’ most powerful allies. Sure, he may have had to cast seven demons out of her, or at least healed her of an undisclosed illness, but the grateful woman of means in turn led his female disciples and offered Jesus financial support. The four Gospels cite Mary as following Jesus to the end of his life, while his male disciples scattered. It was she who was brave enough to go to the guarded tomb of a convicted felon and chat with angels, and she who first encountered the risen Christ. She became the Apostle to the Apostles, when she ran, not walked, to the men by proclaiming the good news, “I have seen the Lord.”

With Mary as our example, we can follow our passions with everything within us, fearlessly, no matter what obstacles we encounter.