This is an interesting post for me. I understood Mary Magdalene to have demons and that she wasn't on the shallow path on her own. I believe this is part of the Eastern Orthodox Church and early Christians.
Agree with you that she dealt with great challenges, according to Scripture: "… Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out" (Luke 8:2b, MSB). Excellent point about how Mary of Magdala was discussed differently in Eastern and Western traditions.
Eh, I jumped the gun a bit on my comment, and I ended up conflating different things! I think the Dies Irae is linking Magdalene with the woman caught in adultery, not explicitly Mary of Bethany (although that would have been a common identification as well.)
Thank you for highlighting even more complexities among historical associations! There were so many Marys, or Maries, in the Gospels. This medieval French sculpture with three of them apparently didn't even include Mary Magdalene or Mary of Bethany: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464362.
This is an interesting post for me. I understood Mary Magdalene to have demons and that she wasn't on the shallow path on her own. I believe this is part of the Eastern Orthodox Church and early Christians.
Agree with you that she dealt with great challenges, according to Scripture: "… Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out" (Luke 8:2b, MSB). Excellent point about how Mary of Magdala was discussed differently in Eastern and Western traditions.
Great post! The identification of Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany is also beautifully included in the Dies Irae: Qui Mariam absolvisti.
Eh, I jumped the gun a bit on my comment, and I ended up conflating different things! I think the Dies Irae is linking Magdalene with the woman caught in adultery, not explicitly Mary of Bethany (although that would have been a common identification as well.)
Thank you for highlighting even more complexities among historical associations! There were so many Marys, or Maries, in the Gospels. This medieval French sculpture with three of them apparently didn't even include Mary Magdalene or Mary of Bethany: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464362.