Meanwhile, because of her significance to the Passion of Jesus Christ, Mary gave her name to two colleges in England: Magdalen (at Oxford) and Magdalene (at Cambridge). Consequently, the term ‘magdalen’ was applied to a reformed prostitute, in honour (if that is quite the word) of Mary. Mary Magdalene is often considered to have been a prostitute, whose ‘seven devils’ (of lust) Jesus banished from her, leading her to give up a life of prostitution. Mary is ‘called Magdalene’ because she hailed from Magdala, a town on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee. Luke relates the same story, speaking of ‘certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils’ (Luke 8:2). In the Gospel of Mark, which is the earliest of the four Gospels to be written, we are told that ‘when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils’ (Mark 16:9). Indeed, Mary Magdalene only makes one small appearance prior to the Crucifixion.
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