Witness of the Resurrection (First Century)
Her life
+ Mary Salome was the wife of Zebedee and the mother of the Apostles James and John. Some traditions state that she was a relative of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
+ She is one of the “three Marys” who served Jesus and the apostles during their ministry and she was a witness of the death of Jesus, the burial, and his resurrection. The Gospel of Mark tells us that she was one of the women who came to anoint the body of Jesus on that Easter Sunday morning.
+ It was Mary Salome who asked Jesus if her sons, James and John, could have privileged places in his Kingdom (see Matthew 20).
+ According to legend, following the Resurrection, Mary Salome traveled to Veroli, Italy, and spent the rest of her life proclaiming the Gospel.
Spiritual bonus
On this day the Church celebrates the memory of the Capuchin Franciscan missionary and martyr, Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen. A zealous missionary, Fidelis was murdered by radical Lutherans in Grusch, Switzerland, in 1622. He was canonized in 1746.
For reflection
“And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.”—Mark 16:1
Prayer
O God, who gladden us each year with the feast day of blessed Mary Salome, grant, we pray, that we, who are called to honor her, may also follow her example of holy living. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For a Holy Woman)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
And today we celebrate...