2023 Mary of Magdala Celebration on Synodality
Thank you for your interest in celebrating the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene with us. Celebrating and lifting up Mary’s true role as Apostle of the Apostles is one of the most important things we can do for our Church and world.
For 2023, we have chosen to highlight synodality. We are grateful to Kelly Meraw, who developed and compiled this year’s prayer service. Kelly is Director of Liturgy, Music, and Pastoral Care for St. John – St. Paul Collaborative in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She is also the primary facilitator for her Collaborative’s Committee for Synodality.
Jesus himself practiced synodality and sought to teach it to his disciples – both women and men – through example: teaching through parables; seeking out those on the periphery, whose voices had been ignored or silenced; placing each person he encountered on his path at the center of his ministry.
Perhaps the greatest ‘miss’ in the history of Synodality was that of the courageous witness of Mary Magdalene, who was commissioned by Jesus to “go and tell” the good news. And we live with the wound of that ‘miss’ in our Church to this day. Through this prayer service, as we recover her witness and honor the impact it continues to make, we gather our prayers together for all women who continue to be ignored, discredited, and disbelieved.
The voices of Catholics around the world calling for greater equality for women in the Church in “Enlarge the Space of Our Tent” will guide us through our prayer service as we highlight women’s synodal encounters with Jesus, then, and the synodal encounters in the heartfelt sharing of the People of God, now.