Woman Redeemed
by 
Christine E Blake
Synopsis
Woman Redeemed is the Every(wo)man story that embraces the feminine influence on history and celebrates the strength of women in community with one another. Mary Magdalene is a product of a multi-cultural region: empowered by the tales of Roman women and grounded by Jewish heroines of traditional stories. She is a universal symbol of renewal and redemption. As such, Mary Magdalene transcends Judeo-Christian tradition and personifies femininity at its most enduring and inspiring.
Tracing her decline through the temptations of this multifaceted world and her attempt to deny her femininity to succeed in a male-dominated society, we explore her difficult, yet familiar, cycle of sin, forgiveness, and reawakening. Finally, as she witnesses the Resurrection, she gains an awareness of the divine in the world and the beauty of women, including herself.
Tracing her decline through the temptations of this multifaceted world and her attempt to deny her femininity to succeed in a male-dominated society, we explore her difficult, yet familiar, cycle of sin, forgiveness, and reawakening. Finally, as she witnesses the Resurrection, she gains an awareness of the divine in the world and the beauty of women, including herself.
Close Up
Genre
Classification
Fiction
Pages
280
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Inspiration
I have always held an affinity for the woman who learned along side the men in the Gospels. She was a student and a teacher, a story-teller and a financial tycoon, she was a sinner and a saint. She is redemption.
Throughout my life, as I commit sin after sin, I look to her as the promise of the ability to change. I strive for that forgiveness she received and my hope often resembles hers: to leave behind past mistakes and move forward toward God's Kingdom. Furthermore, I find my faith not in perfections or when I receive the blessing of a pat on the back; rather, I continue to find my faith when I stumble. It is in falling that the Lord picks me up and that is my connection to Mary Magdalene. She is real.
As a Catholic, I have been taught to use my intellect and logic to further understand my faith; and this is what I have applied to my study of Mary Magdalene: logic and human reality. If I make her a bride to Christ or an earthly goddess or even a prostitute, she is not a symbol of hope for me. For I will never be the bride to Christ, an earthly goddess, or god-willing, a prostitute. But I can be a student of Jesus', a story-teller, a forgiven woman saved by Jesus, striving for the Kingdom. This is the Mary Magdalene we need: a real life woman, a regular follower, a sinner, a saint.
Throughout my life, as I commit sin after sin, I look to her as the promise of the ability to change. I strive for that forgiveness she received and my hope often resembles hers: to leave behind past mistakes and move forward toward God's Kingdom. Furthermore, I find my faith not in perfections or when I receive the blessing of a pat on the back; rather, I continue to find my faith when I stumble. It is in falling that the Lord picks me up and that is my connection to Mary Magdalene. She is real.
As a Catholic, I have been taught to use my intellect and logic to further understand my faith; and this is what I have applied to my study of Mary Magdalene: logic and human reality. If I make her a bride to Christ or an earthly goddess or even a prostitute, she is not a symbol of hope for me. For I will never be the bride to Christ, an earthly goddess, or god-willing, a prostitute. But I can be a student of Jesus', a story-teller, a forgiven woman saved by Jesus, striving for the Kingdom. This is the Mary Magdalene we need: a real life woman, a regular follower, a sinner, a saint.
Publisher
Outskirts Press
Publication Year
2007
ISBN-13
9781432715830
Buy Online At...
amazon.com
barnesandnoble.com
Other Places to Buy:
anywhere books are available - Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Target, etc...new ebook will be on my publishers site in July - outskirtspress.com