Saints · Ages 5-8 · 25 pages

Saint Mary Magdalene: Jesus Called Her by Name

by Kyle Hancock

Mary Magdalene stayed at the Cross. She stayed at the tomb. And early on Easter morning she stood in the garden, weeping. Then Someone said her name: “Mary!” Mary came from Magdala, a busy fishing town on the Sea of Galilee. Something evil had hold of her, and no one could help her — until Jesus came and told it to go. From that day on she followed Him from town to town with the twelve apostles and the other women, and she listened when He said that the Good Shepherd calls each of His sheep by name. When the saddest day came, Mary did not run away. She stayed at the Cross with Our Lady and John. She watched where Jesus was laid, and she came back at dawn on Sunday with spices for His body — and found the stone rolled away. She ran for Peter and John. She looked into the tomb and saw two angels. And when she turned around, a man she took for the gardener said, “Mary!” She knew that voice. It was Jesus, risen from the dead, and He sent her to tell the apostles. That is why the Church calls her the Apostle of the Apostles. Saint Mary Magdalene: Jesus Called Her by Name tells her true story in warm watercolor illustrations and simple read-aloud words, following Saint John’s Gospel and the Gospels alone — not the old mix-up that made her someone she was not. Written for ages 4 to 8 — a read-aloud for the youngest, and a first saint story for children who are starting to read on their own. Inside you’ll find a Scripture page from Isaiah (“I have called you by name: you are mine”); the true story told in short lines little ones can follow; A Note for Families about who Mary Magdalene really was, and about the day your own child was called by name at Baptism; a prayer to pray together; Talk About It Together, questions for after the story; and a page about her life for the grown-up reading aloud, with what the Bible tells us and what Christians have handed down. Feast day: July 22.