THE HOUSE OF MARY MAGDALENE

(Note: Chapter One is missing.)

“Will matter then be destroyed or not? The Savior said, “All natures, all forms, all creatures exist in and with one another, and they will be resolved again into their own roots. For the nature of matter is released into the roots of its nature. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear!”

(Mary 2:1-5)

“Peter said to him, ‘Since you have explained everything to us, tell us one other thing. What is the sin of the world?’

The Savior said, ‘There is no sin, but it is you who make sin when you do the things that are like the nature of adultery, which is called ‘sin.’ That is why the Good came into your midst, coming to the good which belongs to every nature, in order to restore it to its root.’

Then he continued. He said, ‘This is why you become sick and die for you love what deceives you. One who understands, let him understand! Matter gives birth to a passion that has no likeness because it proceeds from what is contrary to nature. Then there arises a disturbance in the whole body. Because of this I said to you, ‘You shall become satisfied, and not be persuaded. You shall be joined in the presence of the likeness of nature.’ Those who have ears to hear, let them hear!” (Mary 3:1-13)

“When the Blessed One had said these things, he greeted them all, saying, ‘Peace be with you! Bear my peace within yourselves! Beware that no one lead you astray saying, ‘Look over here!’ Or ‘Look over there!’ For the Child of Humanity is within you! Follow it! Those who seek it will find it. Go then and proclaim the good news of the realm. Do not lay down any rules beyond what I determined for you, nor give a law like the lawgiver, lest you be confined by it. When he had said this, he departed.” (Mary 4:1-11)

“But they were pained. They wept greatly, saying, ‘How shall we go to the nations and proclaim. the good news of the Child of Humanity? If they did not spare him, how will they spare us?

Then Mary stood up. She greeted them all, and said to her brothers and sisters, ‘Do not weep and be pained, nor doubt, for all his grace will be with you and shelter you. But rather let us praise his greatness, for he has prepared us and made us Humans.’ When Mary said this, she turned their heart to the Good, and they began to discuss the words of the Savior.” (Mary 5:1-10)

“Peter said to Mary, ‘Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than the rest of the women. Tell us the words of the Savior which you remember, which you know and we do not, nor have we heard them.’ Mary answered and said, ‘What is hidden from you I will tell you.’ And she began to say to them these words.” (Mary 6:1-4)

“I,” she said ‘I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, ‘Lord, I saw you today in a vision.’ He answered and said to me, ‘Blessed are you that you did not waver at seeing me. For where the mind is, there is the treasure.’ I said to him, ‘Lord, now, does one who sees the vision see it with the soul or with the spirit?’ The Savior answered and said, ‘One does not see with the soul or with the spirit, but the mind which is between the two sees the vision…” (Mary 7:1-7)

(NOTE: Chapter 8 is missing.)

“And Desire said, ‘I did not see you go down, but now I see you go up. Why do you lie, since you belong to me?’ The Soul answered and said, ‘I saw you. You did not see me or know me. I lived as a garment and you did not know me.’ When the Soul had said this, it went away rejoicing greatly.

Again the Soul came to the third Power, which is called Ignorance. It closely examined the Soul, saying, ‘Where are you going? You are ruled by wickedness. You are ruled – do not judge!’ And the Soul said, ‘Why do you judge me since I have not judged? I was ruled though I have not ruled. I was not known. But I have known that all things are being released, both those belonging to earth and those belonging to heaven.’

When the Soul had left the third Power desolate, it went upward and saw the fourth Power. It had seven forms. The first form is Darkness; the second Desire; the third Ignorance; the fourth Eagerness for Death; the fifth is the Realm of the Flesh; the sixth is the Foolish Wisdom of the Flesh; the seventh is Wrathful Wisdom. These are the seven Powers of Wrath. They asked the Soul, ‘Where are you coming from, human-killer, and where are you going place-destroyer?’

The Soul answered and said, ‘What rules me has been slain, and what turns me has been destroyed, and my desire has been filled, and ignorance has died. In a world I was released from a world, and in a mold from a higher mold, and from the chain of forgetfulness which is temporal. From this hour on, at the time of the season of the generations, I will rest in silence.’ After Mary had said this, she was silent, since it was to this point that the Savior had spoken to her.” (Mary 9:1-31)

“But Andrew responded and said to the brothers and sisters, ‘Say what you will about what she has said, I do not believe that the Savior said this, for certainly these teachings are strange ideas.’

Peter responded and spoke concerning these same things. He questioned them about the Savior, ‘Did he really speak with a woman without our knowing about it? Are we to turn around and all listen to her? Did he choose her over us?’

Then Mary wept and said to Peter, ‘My brother, Peter, what are you thinking? Do you think that I have thought this up myself in my heart, or that I am telling lies about the Savior?’ Levi responded and said to Peter, ‘Peter, you have always been an angry person. Now I see you contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you, then, to reject her? Surely, the Savior’s knowledge of her is trustworthy. That is why he loved her more than us.’ Rather, let us be ashamed. We should clothe ourselves with the perfect Human, acquire it for ourselves as he commanded us, and proclaim the good news, not laying down any other rule or other law beyond what the Savior said.’ After he had said these things, they started going out to teach and proclaim The Good News according to Mary.” (Mary 10:1-15)

“For where the mind is, there is the treasure.” (Mary 7:4)

“The Greek word nous, or eye of the heart, is the treasure because this is the aperture that allows for direct knowing—so we can discern between what’s ego and what’s the calm, still voice of love within us. It’s the form of spiritual vision we can acquire, once we clarify the heart through meditation. In a compilation of writings by Hesychasts, Saint Isaac of Syria advises, ‘Try to enter your inner treasure-house and you will see the treasure-house of heaven.’

The Trappist monk Thomas Merton describes the nous as ‘a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven.’ The essence of the nous is ultimately to serve as a meeting ground within us where the finite and the infinite meet. It’s an aspect of the soul that we can learn to perceive by focusing all of our consciousness into the heart during meditation. It is not the soul; it’s like a window into it. It’s like a Magic 8 Ball hidden deep in the body.

Remember Christ’s response to Mary’s question about how she was able to perceive a vision: ‘One does not see with the soul or with the spirit, but the mind which is between the two sees the vision.’ (7:6–7). The mind, or the nous here, then, is uniquely human. It’s how we can recognize the egoic layers we need to release, strip off. The nous is what makes kenosis possible. It’s not the soul or the spirit but what exists between them.

And this is what I found so fascinating—this mystical union with nous, with this window to what’s true and real and lasting for us, takes place not by leaving, transcending, or ignoring the body, but by learning to become fully present within it.”

–THE GIRL WHO BAPTIZED HERSELF