What has influenced me to finally get off my back side and back to work was the birth of the ninth grandson on February 10, 2007. Hopefully I should be able to relate events as they have taken place in chronological order. These can be difficult as old age is fast catching up and the brain is not as good as when one is young in recalling things. A very brief update was done last year's new year (that is, January 1, 2006) wherein I had indicated that it had "been 3 years and 10 months since the most previous entry ha[d] been made", November 2, 2002, to be exact.

It is Sunday today, February 25, 2007 when I am writing this down. I should start with what is easiest to recall - easiest because I had recorded it somewhere before - my interest in study. The genealogical search has for me become like a search for biblical and theological truths. Now I have used these terminologies - biblical and theological truths - and they sound very bombastic. Hopefully I should be able to convey what I really mean to say. For genealogy has been employed by the writers of the two of the four canonical gospels, Matthew and Luke. The former traced the lineage, of Jesus from Joseph to Adam (Lk 4:23-38), while the latter started with Abraham down to Joseph (Matt 1:2-16). Note that Matthew mentioned three women. (There should be four, but Batsheba, the mother of Solomon was omitted). Why did I mention these women in the genealogy of Jesus? Perhaps I should be able to deal with this in the future.

I have used the word 'canonical' because there are actually more than four gospels. Now, I am really in trouble here for making this claim. Further, of the four canonical gospels, that of Luke I like the least. Now, I am really in deep trouble here! I would say the reason is that the gospel has not been very beneficial to the well-being of women. And how in heaven have I been able to make this claim? Well, from too much reading of books written by female and feminist biblical theologians. In fact this has led me to start writing a book myself on one of the greatest leaders in early Christianity - Mary Magdalene! I think I'd better stop here on this matter. Because if I did not, I might end up with what might be upsetting with my fellow Christians. On the other hand, I might be offered enlightment by other Christian believers. So I might as well go on. And back to Mary Magdalene - why the interest (of mine) in her.

The only biblical character that has undergone the most metamorphosis in Western Christianity, with the possible exception of Jesus Christ, is Mary Magdalene. As the first recipient of Christophany in the Fourth Gospel, she has become conflated and confused with a number of women in the New Testament, most particularly with the anointing women in the gospels. Consequently, she has been presented in the various roles of an apostle, a penitent and a contemplative. Her lingering secular image, however, is that of a Penitent Whore. Since the tranformations of her character have all taken place in the West, my project aims to present an image of Mary Magdalene from the perspectives of the Babaylan, the native priestess in the pre-colonial and early colonial Philippines. Like Mary Magdalene in proto-Christianity, the Babaylan has been driven from the position of leadership into the margin of the emergent society with the advent of Iberian Christianity into the Philippines.

So that is the gist of what I have been up to in the past years. That's what had been occupying me preventing me from making any update on our website. An eye operation last year, however, forced me to take a leave from the project. The only problem is how to rekindle the fire in the belly when the energy or enthusiasm has waned. Anyway, let me continue . . .

The New Testament figure of Mary Magdalene has undergone major metamorphoses in Western Christianity. The synoptic writers list her first among the women followers of Jesus who ministered to him and were witnesses of his crucifixion and burial. The Fourth Gospel introduces Mary Magdalene at the crucifixion; she is then singled out in the Johannine version of the Resurrection with a private encounter with Jesus and a commission to announce the Resurrection. The New Testament accounts of Mary Magdalene end here.

The post-biblical writings add to her characterisation in their attempts to harmonize the four Gospels. The mix-up and conflation of Mary of Bethany, the unnamed sinner who anointed Jesus, and Mary Magdalene, the sole witness to the Resurrection according to the Fourth Gospel was made official in Western Christianity. This took place in 591 when Pope Gregory the Great declared that “she whom Luke calls the sinful woman, whom John calls Mary, we believe to be the Mary from whom seven devils were ejected according to Mark.” Mary Magdalene is the sinful woman of the town who later sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his words, who remained stubbornly at the tomb after the disciples had long since fled, who, weeping, sought the Lord at the tomb and was permitted to bring the news of the resurrection to the disciples; she was, finally, the woman who had suffered from the seven demons.

This would become the official teaching of the Church in the west for nearly fourteen centuries. With the final proclamation of Gregory the Great,the transformation of Mary Magdalene was complete. From the gospel figure, with her active role as the herald of New Life – the Apostle of the Apostles – she became the redeemed whore and Christianity’s model of repentance, a manageable, controllable figure and effective weapon and instrument of propaganda against her own sex.

A few objections raised in the 16th century against the official stand on the the unicity of the anointing women caused some commotion in the Church. The discovery in late 18th century of the manuscript Pistis Sophia where Mary Magdalene appears and of another manuscript in the following century startled some scholars. The second manuscript was a more significant finding, for it contained a non-canonical writing called the Gospel of Mary which features Mary Magdalene as the central character. Consequently, scholars early in the 20th century started asking questions on the actual role of Mary Magdalene as an important leader in very early Christianity. They raised objections to the alleged biblical basis of her identification with other women in the gospels. Further discoveries of gnostic writings in 1945 in Nag Hammadi, Upper Egypt, led to the flowering of feminist scholarship on Mary Magdalene and other women in early Christianity. As a result, the Roman Catholic Church officially separated Luke's sinful woman, Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene as part of a general revision of the Roman missal in 1969.

The Filipino culture has been strongly influenced by the Iberian brand of Catholic Christianity. The early missionary friars from Spain made great efforts to convert first the village chiefs. They expected that the natives would follow the example of their leaders. A conquistador expressed his confidence with the following statements:
"These natives will be easily converted to our holy Catholic faith … They have neither temples nor idols, nor do they offer any sacrifices. They easily believe what is told and presented forcibly to them. They hold some superstitions, such as casting of lots before doing anything, and other wrethched practices – all of which will be easily eradicated, if we have some priests who know their language, and will preach to them."

The friars, however, found an unexpected stumbling block to their mission of evangelization in the person of the native priestess. The sacerdotisa or babaylan exerted such influence on the natives that, even when apparently converted and baptised, most would readily revert to their animistic beliefs and practices. The friars, therefore, decided to wage war on the Babaylan. She was branded as a witch, sorceress, priestess of hell, priestess of the demon, cursed priestess and other denigrating labels. The friars would confiscate her vessels and equipment of sacrifice and persuade the native boys to destroy them. The place of worship and her abode would be razed to the ground. She would be banished to the forests away from her own people. She would be eventually marginalized and pushed out of her position as the spiritual leader of the people. The spirit of babaylanism, however, would not be completely extinguished in the entire duration of the Spanish colonialization (1565-1898).

Strong similarities exist between the image Mary Magdalene and that of the Babaylan. Each was recognized as a leader in the earliest stage of her community. Both were gradually ousted from the position of leadership to the margins of their respective group. The portrayal of each underwent transformation so that their original image almost completely disappeared. In the kind of Filipino society that emerged as heavily influenced by Iberian Christianity both suffered marginalization. In the Filipino harmonization of the gospels and certain Old Testament texts, the Pasyong Mahal ni Hesuskristong Panginoon Natin (The Holy Passion of Jesus Christ Our Lord), Mary Magdalene was not the first recipient of the Christophany. It was Mary of Nazareth who first saw the Risen Christ. Mary Magdalene, however, is featured as a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. She was present during his crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection. Mary Magdalene’s portrayal in the Pasyong Mahal is strongly contributive to the development of Filipino brand spirituality. With its penchant for visions, trances and altered state of consciousness, this spirituality contained strong elements of babaylanism. In the Philippines, with the exception of Mary of Nazareth, the most popular female saint is Mary Magdalene. Her role in the Passion is remembered in passion plays during Holy Week. Parts of the Pasyong Mahal, recited during this time show the strong influence of non-canonical gospels.

The Magdalene tradition in the Philippines played a discernible role in the movement for independence from Spain. The Filipino nationalist, Dr. José Rizál, wrote a book entitled Noli Me Tangere, (Do not touch me) taking its inspiration from Jesus' command to Mary Magdalene in Jn 20:17. The execution of Dr. Rizál, by the authorities in 1896 signalled the beginning of the end of more than three centuries of Spanish colonialization. Following his execution, the people rose in revolt culminating in their independence from Spain in 1898.

The above brief picture of the Mary Magdalene accounts and their impact, particularly the Johannine account, on Filipino spirituality and culture indicates the focus of my research and the aims of this project:
• To re-assess the development of traditions concerning Mary Magdalene
• To examine the influence of Magdalenian writings and traditions on Filipino spirituality
• To make a comparison between the characters of Mary Magdalene and of the Babaylan who were both pushed from the positions leadership in their communities
• To examine the 'liberationist' interpretation of Jn 20:1-20 in the movement towards Filipino independence from Spanish colonization

And that, in brief, had kept me occupied for some time a year and a half ago. Whether I can rekindle the fire in the belly to proceed is the big question!