Quite a Love happening...yes: no mistake! The Love of Loves presented.

 It's the 6th. of March, 2022, and the book "Mary Magdalene Revealed" sort of doesn't want me to lay it down. I am moved, mesmerized - this is what Merriam-Webster indicates the word refers to: "hypnotized, engaged, interested, intrigued, involved, alert, alive, conscious, open-eyed, watchful" -  by its Author's writings about Mary Magdalene and her relationship with Jesus - the Christ - and what this thing, Love, is all about. Certainly this subject, the one of a woman having a relationship with Jesus...[careful with the lightning strike!...😨]...is if anything, sort of scandalous, blasphemous, and contrary to all we have been told about Jesus, his Divinity, his emphasis in healing the sick, feeding the poor, his meditating the entire night by himself - only God knows where!, under the stars, most surely - and self satisfied and content in living by Himself in company with his Father, etc., etc. 

A most markedly puritanical style of life! 

And let's reference that word again, for clarity of communication - ref. here. The Cambridge Dictionary quotes the term as: believing or involving the belief that it is important to work hard and control yourself, and that pleasure is wrong or unnecessary. That's a little ...tsk., tsk, tsk...(I'm not going there...😬) but in general terms "communicates" today's sense of the concept. Nevertheless, it's the type of thought that comes up when thinking of His daily life in those times, geography, and Roman 'occupation'.  

"We have been very aware of the masculine, linear, more rational story of Christ, but what we haven't heard, what has been hidden from us, and what we haven't been ready to integrate is the equally significant story of Mary Magdalene, of the feminine, of the cyclical, the non-rational, of what waits for us within." : the Author puts this forth, and for me, it is significant. It is familiar. It is..."oh, oh!"...and, "of course it is so!".  Throughout my 'education' with and by the Marianists - the Society of Mary - btw, of which there are 2....!: the Marists and the Marianists. This 'vision' of the significance of Mary the Mother, in Jesus' life and moreover, as "our Mother" and thus, our own intuition, "image-ination" of how special that would be, was always with me. 

The first, Marists, were founded in ... 1816, "Twelve young ordained men, including Fr. Jean-Claude Colin, pledged their lives to the service of others in the spirit of Mary at the shrine of Our Lady of Fourviere in Lyons, France. Ref: Society of Mary - the Marists .Their "USA Statement of Identity" reads: "Mary of Nazareth, the first disciple of the Lord and Mother of the Church, is the heart of our identity as Marists. This remarkable woman of faith has called us to this way of life. ...These qualities mark us as Marists: mercy and compassion, availability, welcome and hospitality, simplicity manifest in everyday ordinariness and a common touch. We are self-effacing apostles who demonstrate a spirit of joy and respect for others; we are called to be humble and hidden and unknown in the world. ...

...Our spirituality, which is both mystical and practical, responds to the reality and circumstances of today’s world. Jean-Claude Colin, acting on what he believed to be Mary’s desire, encouraged us to establish a Marian Church, a Church with the heart of a mother beating at its center." Ref: here

"In short, following in the Founder's thoughts and words, and internal discussions and conventions, they profess the theme "We must “become Mary,”..."work towards an internalization of Mary herself into our lives, so that we unthinkingly and spontaneously exhibit the qualities, values, and virtues of Mary...otherwise we are grasping in vain, trying to imitate her moment by moment and step by step, in a way that is not the least bit spontaneous, peaceful, or healing for us or others that we engage in our lives. ...".

Isn't that.."different"? 

And how about the "Marianists", the Dayton ones? Well, they were founded in 1817, by Blessed Fr. Guillaume Joseph Chaminade, S.M. in Bordeaux, "in the wake of France’s bloody revolution (1789 – 1799). ..."...in the early years of the revolution, William Joseph Chaminade, a diocesan priest, continued a clandestine ministry in Bordeaux. In 1797, Chaminade was driven into exile in Saragossa, Spain. There he prayed daily at the shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar, continuing a devotion to the Blessed Mother that was formed in the earliest days of his childhood.

"The Marianists first came to the United States in 1849, landing in Cincinnati, Ohio. They moved north to Dayton, where they established St. Mary’s School for Boys in 1850. St. Mary’s would become the University of Dayton."...

"During this time in exile, Chaminade conceived of a plan that would shape the rest of his life, and the lives of thousands to follow. Upon his return to France in 1800, Chaminade began forming small faith communities called sodalities. Chaminade believed the Blessed Mother was the perfect model of discipleship,..." Ref: here. ...

"Today, the Marianists are present in more than 30 countries around the world. In the United States, about 300 Marianists serve in ministries from Honolulu to Puerto Rico, and in Eastern Africa, India, Ireland and Mexico." 

So...? "The Marianist charism emphasizes community, inclusivity, faith, and service to the poor and to youth. Members of the Marianist Family seek to continue the Blessed Mother’s mission of bringing Christ to the world."

Isn't' that neat? Two "orders", founded at approximately the same time, in sites not too far away from each other, and in France...Lyons and Bordeaux. But, we have detoured somewhat from the initial paragraphs' thoughts: what does this have to do with "Mary" - with Mary Magdalene?

Hmmmm! Let's keep that simmering...