Witness and Prophet

Today’s drawing of Mary Magdalene

“Mary Magdalene was invented in this alternate portrait as a prostitute precisely to counter

this extraordinary strong portrait of her as an early leader and apostolic witness and prophet.” [Video]

For the Mary Magdalene Celebration, I invited our star student, Annie Villacrés, a 15 year old girl who is an artist, a dancer, and will be anything that she decides to be. Annie didn’t really know Mary Magdalene, so she researched to create her paintings. And what did she find out? That Mary Magdalene was a prostitute.

I really thought that after so many years and so many books, documentaries, articles and stories of all kinds published by so many people, someone looking up Mary Magdalene would easily find updated information about Mary Magdalene. But the portrayal that has been in human imagination for so many years is hard to erase.

Annie, who is still learning English, probably wasn’t able to understand Raquel Z. Rivera’s comments between songs about the inspiration behind each composition, and alternative views of Mary Magdalene. See Raquel in the 2024 video for the Mary Magdalene Celebration.

And it is precisely for girls like Annie, smart, vibrant, creative, and highly intelligent, girls who are growing up in a better world, but one that still holds on to the stigmas of the past. It is for our Annies that we must continue to share the story of a woman-saint-leader whose achievements and talents were cancelled for so long.

This is the portrait that unveils: A saint who is not a virgin, a woman who chose to seek illumination and wisdom. A memory who continues to reemerge in the human psyche until fully acknowledged. An example for girls who are leaders and seek wisdom, who are creative and seek to express all that is within their hearts and minds.

Annie’s Magdalenes