"Mary Magdalene" is a perfect way to celebrate the "Apostle to the Apostles" on or around her July 22 feast day. It is both cinematically beautiful and well-grounded in contemporary scholarship about the religious and political context in which Jesus and Mary sought God and God's reign.
It is difficult to ignore ever-mounting evidence that the clerical system governing the Catholic church is in a significant state of decay. Yet, I can't help believing that the Holy Spirit — who loves creating something new out of chaos — is summoning us to build a new church governance.
Simply Spirit: Ancient funerary art is performative in nature and is meant to draw the viewer in as a participant. As they mourned her, Junia wished her loved ones to enter into a liminal space and experience Christ's power over death.
