The title of Dr. Jose Rizal’s book, Noli Me Tangere, was taken from the words uttered by the resurrected Jesus Christ to Mary Magdalene on the very first Easter: “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t ascended to my father.” (John 20:17)
Emilio Aguinaldo’s nom de guerre, Magdalo, is from the name of Mary Magdalene, Kawit Cavite’s patron saint.
These may come as a surprise to many believers as the image of Mary Magdalene in our collective psyche is far from ideal.
This writer asked his cyberfriends on Twitter.com, a social networking site: “Who is Mary Magdalene?” Of the two who replied, one said: “the prostitute in the Bible that was saved by Christ?”
Mary Magdalene is known to many as a reformed whore. In the vernacular, the term “Magdalena” has since carried the subtext of a prostitute.