I hope the summer is treating you and your family well.
And please remember, while weekends are popular,
weekdays critically need to be adopted. Your sacrifice makes all the difference during these high-traffic times at the abortion facility. More information coming soon at
prolifedallas.org/40days.
Also in July, please be sure to spread the word about:
Looking ahead, please also mark your calendars and share these special events in August and September:
Also this summer, on July 22, we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. Except for the mother of Jesus, few women are more honored in the Bible than Mary Magdalene. Yet she could well be the patron of the slandered, since there has been a persistent legend in the Church that she is the unnamed sinful woman who anointed the feet of Jesus in Luke 7:36-50.
Most Scripture scholars today point out that there is no scriptural basis for confusing the two women. Mary Magdalene, that is, "of Magdala," was the one from whom Christ cast out "seven demons" (Luke 8:2) -- an indication, at the worst, of extreme demonic possession or, possibly, severe illness.
Father Wilfrid J. Harrington, O.P., writing in the New Catholic Commentary, says that "seven demons" "does not mean that Mary had lived an immoral life -- a conclusion reached only by means of a mistaken identification with the anonymous woman of Luke 7:36." Father Edward Mally, S.J., writing in the Jerome Biblical Commentary, agrees that she "is not... the same as the sinner of Luke 7:37, despite the later Western romantic tradition about her."
Mary Magdalene was one of the many "who were assisting them [Jesus and the Twelve] out of their means." She was one of those who stood by the cross of Jesus with his mother. And, of all the "official" witnesses that might have been chosen for the first awareness of the Resurrection, she was the one to whom that privilege was given. She is known as the "Apostle to the Apostles."
Let us in a similar way be the "Voice for the Voiceless."
May God's blessings be upon you, as you help to strengthen our commitment to the sanctity of life. And may you and your family enjoy a happy and safe Fourth of July!
