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Women in Church Leadership

Tell the Whole Story of Mary Magdalene on Easter Sunday

The full story of Mary Magdalene’s Easter proclamation of the Risen Christ is NEVER heard on Easter Sunday (John 20: 1 – 18).  Thus, Catholics are deprived of learning about the gifts, grace, courage, and ministry of women such as Mary Magdalene whose memorial was raised to a feast day in 2016 and is officially known as the “Apostle of the Apostles.”  

As we head towards the 2024 Synod, raising awareness and opening new dialogues about the need to include Mary Magdalene’s apostolic witness of the Risen Christ — the whole story of John 20: 1 – 18 — on Easter Sunday.   

This is one omission that could be easily rectified and would provide Catholics with the beautiful and courageous example of Mary Magdalene’s extraordinary faith and place in our tradition.  

Mary Magdalene on Easter Sunday

When Catholics gather to celebrate Easter Sunday, we do not hear the risen Jesus commissioning to Mary Magdalene, “But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Nor do we hear her witness to her confused brothers and sisters of the risen Christ, “I have seen the Lord.” That is because the full account, John 20: 1 – 18, is not proclaimed. Only John 20: 1 – 9 is proclaimed on Easter Sunday, eclipsing Mary Magdalene’s faith-filled actions. The rest of the story, John 20: 11 – 18, is proclaimed on Tuesday of the Octave of Easter when few Catholics hear it. And John 20:10, the passage about the male disciples going home is omitted altogether. In 2016, Pope Francis officially raised the memorial of St. Mary Magdalene to a feast day naming her the “Apostle of the Apostles.” And yet, Catholics do not know this story because we do not hear it on Easter silencing both Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

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What We Gain by Proclaiming John 20: 1-18 in its Entirety

What do we gain by including John 20:10-18 with the Easter Reading of John 20:1-9? 

“John 20 is not a collection of disconnected or interchangeable episodes, but a single narrative, composed of a number of ‘scenes’ or ‘acts’, which together present a coherent and integrated interpretation of the resurrection.” (S. Schneiders)  John’s full Resurrection narrative starts with Mary Magdalene discovering the empty tomb (v.1) and ends with this blessing: “These [signs] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name” (v. 31).

Yet, our Catholic Lectionary limits the Easter Sunday gospel reading to John 20:1-9 – only ¼ of John’s full Resurrection narrative.  It omits John 20:10-18 on Easter Sunday, then skips to 20:19-31 for the 2nd Sunday of Easter.  This is misleading. 

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