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Twice in The Da Vinci Code, we hear that “the quest for the Holy Grail is the quest to kneel before the bones of Mary Magdalene.” To which, I can’t help thinking that, at least for a Christian, there can only be one natural response: “been there, done that.”
Not that I’ve actually visited her tomb. I have, however, visited the Church of La Maddalena in Rome, around the corner from the university where I teach. I’ve stood in the piazza in front of the church and admired its lovely old image of Mary Magdalen. And naturally, like most Christians, I have prayed to her – certainly during the Mass we celebrate in her honor every year on July 22nd.
Just to get the flavor, here are a few phrases from that Mass:
“Lord, accept the gifts we present in memory of Saint Mary Magdalen…”
“Father, may the sacrament we have received fill us with the same faithful love that kept Mary Magdalen close to Christ….”
‚ÄúBy her prayers and example, may we proclaim Christ as our living Lord and one day see him in glory…‚Äù
Honestly, if all you want to do is pray to Mary Magdalen and venerate her bones, who needs a quest for the Holy Grail or a novel like The Da Vinci Code? Forget the Sturm und Drang, the Fibonacci series, the Priory, the gnostics, the goddess, Mr. Da Vinci, Prof. Langdon, Sophie and all the rest. Just become a Catholic, and you can pray over St. Mary Magdalen’s bones all you want.
I suspect that one reason why, in The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown never refers to Mary Magdalen as “Saint Mary Magdalen” is that using this title would remind people of the glaring fact that she is anything but marginalized in the story of Christianity. Indeed, she is one of the most popular saints of all time. Her bones, the supposed object of the Grail quest, have been the object of a popular pilgrimage – a “journey to pray” in the words of The Da Vinci Code – for more than a millennium.
In addition, there are countless churches all over the world dedicated to her memory. She is celebrated in paintings, in buildings like Oxford’s beautiful Magdalen College, and in the baptismal names of all the little Madelaines of the world.
There was even a religious order called the “Magdalens”, which sprang up in Germany in the early 1200s before spreading throughout Europe (sadly, very few of the congregations in Germany survived the Reformation). There was also a group called the
‚ÄúMadelonettes‚Äù, who were members of an unrelated Order of St. Mary Magdalen. They were founded in 1618 by a Capuchin named P?®re Athanase Mol?©. As a matter of fact, the existence of such orders puts Mary Magadalen in a rather special category, since I don‚Äôt recall any other women in the New Testament, apart from the Blessed Virgin Mary herself, having religious orders named after them. In fact, I don‚Äôt think any of the 12 apostles inspired religious orders either. To my knowledge, there aren‚Äôt any ‚ÄúPetrines‚Äù or ‚ÄúNathanielites.‚Äù
The intense popular devotion to St. Mary Magdalen is all the more striking in that many people – at least in the Latin West Рfancied her to have been a woman of ill repute. Just think: all those little Madelaines in France were named after someone whom many believed to be a former whore. Clearly, her body’s supposed role in the sex trade did nothing to stop generations of Christians from flocking to her shrine in Provence to kneel before it. Call it what you will, but Catholic culture is definitely not prudish or puritanical.
Oddly enough, for a supposedly blasphemous book, The Da Vinci Code turns out to be about a “journey to pray.” It’s the story of a pilgrimage: “a journey to pray at the feet of the outcast one.” But who is this so-called outcast? None other than the famous Saint Mary Magdalen. And where was she cast out from? Hard to say. Perhaps from the old churches of New England where you’re unlikely to find pictures and statues of Saint Mary Magdalen or people on their knees praying to her. But certainly not from Catholic Christianity. Certainly not from the Church of La Maddalena. Certainly not from the Basilica of St. Maximin in Vezeley where, as I write, her bones are being venerated as they have been for centuries.
Since the search at the heart of The Da Vinci Code is a pilgrimage to pray before the relics of such a popular Catholic saint, it’s no surprise then that, at the end of his journey, the hero, Langdon, finds himself doing the quintessential Catholic thing: kneeling in prayer before her bones.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more certain I am that this novel is an allegory about the conversion of our New England Yankee, Harvard’s own Professor Langdon, to Roman Catholicism.
So, on this joyous Easter Day РAnno Domini 2006 Рperhaps we should be saying “Welcome aboard, prof. Join the club.”
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Very bold, Fr. John! Keep up the great work on your website–it’s brilliant!
Hope you are enjoying a wonderful Easter in bella Roma!
Kate
A wonderful essay. Thank you.
You rock Fr. John. Happy Easter.
Now that is the perfect way of making lemonade from lemons! Langdon’s spiritual journey to the Church–who would’ve thought? Excellent! Happy Easter!
Its a novel , can’t you just leave it at that … Brown never says that it is anything more, and is not supposed to be taken anymore serious then a good read.
>>In fact, I don’t think any of the 12 apostles inspired religious orders either. To my knowledge, there aren’t any “Petrines” or “Nathanielites.”
Well, there’s the fraternity of St. Peter.
Oops. Forgot about the fraternity, but I think the general point still stands.
Yes, Kataryna, it is only a novel. This blog is all about demonstrating that the book shouldn’t be taken as anything else. The blog’s motto is “Laugh When You Read That.” It should be said, however, that the “Fact Page” does make claims to be historical and accurate, and although I would argue that these claims should be read as part of a work of fiction, it is sadly apparent that many people have taken them more seriously.
Perhaps you have a different experience where you live (I don’t know where you’re writing from), Kataryna. Here in the U.S. people do fall for the book as fact. Yes, it’s in the ‘fiction’ section of the bookstores. While those categories exist in Barnes & Noble, people don’t necessarily live or think in categories…fiction spills over into the way we think. This can be for the good, if that fiction inspires and strengthens living a good life. And, of course, the other way ’round. Here’s to good lit and the good life.
Kataryna, take a look at comment #13 in the link below.
http://davincicode-opusdei.com/?p=82
Kinda sums it up, doesn’t it?
There are also several groups named after the apostle John (not to mention the Paulists). There’s a Dominican offshoot and a secular institute. However, what’s interesting about all of these groups is that they are all relatively modern. The orders you mention are from the middle ages and the renaissance, which means that Mary Magdalen has been inspiring Christians in a life-changing way for some time.
Speaking of Mary Magdalen’s bones, whatever happened to her foot?
A priest friend of mine went on pilgrimage to to the Shrine of St. Mary Magdalene in southern France, and actually visited her tomb. It was a deeply-moving experience for him.
BTW, while he was there, he overheard a media-person asking one of the locals about the plotline of DVC. The poor, pious little old lady was shocked that someone would publish something so blasphemous about their beloved saint and Our Blessed Lord.
That was a few years ago. That poor soul has probably had to deal with lots of DVC-influenced folks since then.
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