"True community is based upon equality, mutuality, and reciprocity. It affirms the richness of individual diversity as well as the common human ties that bind us together."
Pauli Murray
Mary Magdalene’s story isn’t one of solitude—it’s one of deep, sacred belonging. We often think of the spiritual journey as something we must navigate alone, but Mary’s life tells a different story. Healing, wisdom, and transformation don’t happen in isolation. They unfold in love shared, hands held, burdens carried together. True community is not just about being in the presence of others, but about the deep exchange of the lived experience—where we lift one another, honor our differences, and recognize the sacredness in each other.
After the Resurrection, Mary didn’t disappear into obscurity. She stepped deeper into community, into the embrace of those who believed alongside her. In France, she walked, taught, and prayed with others. She shared meals, whispered blessings, and let herself be held. The early church wasn’t built by solitary seekers but by people who came together—who wept and rejoiced, who carried each other when the road felt long. They created something holy: a space of spiritual kinship.
Spiritual kinship leads us to deeper understanding and growth. Through shared experience—through the laughter, the tears, the learning and unlearning—we begin to see who we truly are. In honoring the richness of each other’s lives, we come to recognize our own sacred place in the great communion of being. Love, connection, and shared experience reveal to us our truest selves: not separate, but deeply bound together, each life a reflection of the divine.
These bonds go beyond belonging to a particular group. It is about the sacred holiness we find with all life; with our family, in friendships, with our colleagues, with our neighbors, and even with our beloved pets. It is the quiet understanding shared over morning coffee, the knowing glance or smile across a crowded room with a stranger, the gentle companionship of a creature who loves us without words. It doesn’t always feel like we belong in the traditional sense, but we are always in relationship—with others, with the world, with the mystery that holds us all. We reciprocate experiences, share in joys and sorrows, and, in doing so, affirm that life is divine.
And yet, Mary’s story also teaches us about the balance between communion and solitude. Later in her life, she withdrew into the cave at Sainte-Baume, not to escape, but to listen more deeply. She shows us that solitude does not separate us from community—it deepens it. When we take time to be still, to listen in silence, we return to each other more whole, more present, more open to divine love. The rhythm of spiritual life moves between gathering and retreat, between speaking and listening, between holding and being held.
This type of belonging isn’t just between people—it opens us to the whole of creation. When we open our hearts to one another, we begin to hear the rhythm of life more clearly. The hush of the wind, the quiet breathing of the earth, the presence of every living thing—all of it speaks to the great communion we are part of. True community affirms that we are not meant to walk alone, but neither are we meant to forget the voice that speaks in silence. Spiritual life isn’t a lonely climb but a widening embrace, drawing us ever closer to love, to ourselves, to each other, and to the divine presence that holds us all.
Contemplate the following.
1. How has community shaped your spiritual journey? Reflect on the people who have supported, challenged, or inspired you in your growth. How have these relationships deepened your understanding of love, wisdom, or sacred presence?
2. In what ways do you resist being held or supported by others? Mary Magdalene allowed herself to be upheld by the bonds of friendship and faith—what fears or beliefs might keep you from fully leaning into spiritual kinship?
3. How does being in communion with others lead you into deeper connection with all of life? Think about moments when love, shared prayer, or deep listening have helped you feel more attuned to the natural world, to the divine, or to the interconnectedness of all things.
4. What is one way you can more fully embody spiritual kinship? Consider how you might offer yourself to community—through presence, encouragement, or acts of service. How can you be a source of strength and wisdom, as Mary Magdalene was, while also allowing yourself to receive?
5. How do you balance time in community with moments of solitude? Reflect on how both connection and quiet shape your spiritual growth. When do you feel most alive in the presence of others, and when does stillness call you deeper into yourself and the divine? How might you create a rhythm that honors both?
Prayer
Mary Magdalene,
you who walked the path of love,
teach me to open my heart to those who walk beside me.
Help me to see that my journey is not meant to be traveled alone,
but in the company of souls who will lift me,
challenge me, and hold me when I falter.
May I have the courage to be known—
to share my wounds and my wisdom,
to let myself be shaped by love.
Like you, may I find holiness in friendship,
grace in shared burdens,
and the presence of the Divine in every gathering of hearts.
And let this love extend beyond what I see,
beyond what I know—
into the earth beneath my feet,
the wind against my skin,
the quiet pulse of life that surrounds me.
Teach me that communion is not only with people,
but with all of creation,
woven together in a sacred and unbreakable bond.
May I be both student and teacher,
giver and receiver,
a thread in the great tapestry of belonging.
And when I seek solitude, let it not be in loneliness,
but in remembrance of the love that has carried me
and the hands that have held me.
Amen.
Sacred Ethereal Resources for Spiritual Growth