A Faithful Mother

Saint Mary Salome shines in the Gospels as a courageous disciple, a devoted mother, and one of the Myrrhbearers who remained close to Jesus in His Passion and hurried to honor His Body at dawn. Christian memory recognizes her as the wife of Zebedee and the mother of the apostles James the Greater and John the Evangelist. Her holiness is quiet and durable. She serves Christ from her means, endures the shame of the Cross, and becomes a witness to the first news of the Resurrection. The Church honors her steadfast love and maternal heart, and many communities commemorate her near October 22. Iconography often places a small jar of spices in her hands, a sign of the love that runs toward the Lord when others draw back. Her life encourages a discipleship that is steady, practical, and brave.

A Heart Turned To Christ

The story of Mary Salome begins along the shores of Galilee in a hardworking fishing household. Zebedee’s business employed hired men, which suggests a family that knew both daily labor and a certain stability. James and John grew up in that environment before Christ called them from their nets to follow Him. The family’s encounter with Jesus did not end with the sons. Their mother also stepped into the path of the Master and learned from Him directly. In The Gospel of Matthew, she approaches the Lord about her sons and says, “Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” That moment becomes a turning point. Jesus teaches that true greatness means drinking His chalice and serving as He serves. Her maternal desire gets purified. She learns to want holiness more than honor for her children and accepts that the way up in the Kingdom is the way down into humble love. Some early traditions suggested a family connection between her and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church does not define that claim, yet the tradition underlines a real closeness among the holy women around Jesus. What she is most known for, beyond any speculation, is clear in Scripture. She follows Jesus, she stands near the Cross, and she runs to the tomb with spices at first light.

Walking With The Lord

Mary Salome’s daily discipleship shows how love looks in motion. She follows Jesus from Galilee, provides for His needs, and remains within sight of Calvary when many disciples have fled. The Gospel of Mark records that “there were also women looking on from a distance… and Salome.” Then, after the Sabbath rest, “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices that they might go and anoint Him.” These brief verses reveal a beautiful pattern. She is present when it hurts. She honors the Lord’s Body with reverent service. She rises early to love Him in practical ways. Scripture does not record miracle-working by Mary Salome during her lifetime. Her standout “sign” is fidelity that refuses to vanish in the hour of darkness. Through her, the Church learns that the holiest works may be simple and steady, like staying, serving, and speaking the Resurrection news that changes the world.

A Mother’s Faith

Following a condemned Rabbi to the foot of a Roman cross carried real risk. Mary Salome bears the cost of public association with Jesus at the most dangerous moment. She also bears the sharper interior cost of a mother who watches her sons walk the narrow road. James later drinks the chalice to the dregs and becomes the first apostolic martyr as told in Acts of the Apostles. John faces his own share of suffering, living long in the service of the Gospel and enduring exile according to Revelation. The Lord’s earlier correction of her request becomes a lived catechesis in her home. She discovers that Christian greatness looks like courage, patience, and love stretched thin but unbroken. The ancient Church does not preserve an account of her death, and tradition commonly holds that she died in peace after a life of faithful discipleship. Divine grace is evident in the way her faith endured beyond shock and grief. She stays with the Lord, and He keeps her steady.

Afterglow Of Grace

After her death, devotion to Mary Salome grew in different corners of Christendom. The East honors her among the Holy Myrrhbearers, celebrating the courageous women who came to the tomb and received the angelic message of joy. In the West, a deep local tradition in southern France remembers Mary Salome together with Mary Jacobe at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, where relics attributed to the holy women are venerated and pilgrims gather for processions to the sea. Across centuries, the faithful have brought their sorrows and sicknesses to her intercession and have testified to favors received, especially healings of hearts wounded by loss. Whether in a seaside procession or a quiet parish chapel, the same hope remains. The Mother who carried spices to Christ loves to carry petitions to her Risen Lord.

Why Her Intercession Matters

Catholic devotion to saints such as Mary Salome rests on communion in Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that the saints, “being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness.” It also teaches that the saints “do not cease to intercede with the Father for us.” We keep their memory not only as examples but as living members of the Body of Christ who help us by their prayers. The Catechism also speaks of the “cloud of witnesses” that surrounds the faithful and sustains the Church’s tradition of prayer. “The witnesses who have preceded us into the kingdom… share in the living tradition of prayer by the example of their lives, the transmission of their writings, and their prayer today.” Mary Salome belongs to that communion. Her life still speaks, and her intercession still helps. She teaches how to love the Eucharistic Lord with reverence, how to serve the suffering with tenderness, and how to keep hope burning when the night feels long.

Bringing Spices Of Love In Ordinary Time

Mary Salome shows that holiness does not always look like a public miracle. It often looks like getting up early to honor the Lord, keeping company with Him at the Cross, and carrying care to the places where grief is raw. Emulating her begins at Mass with a reverent heart for the Body of Christ. It continues in Adoration where silence becomes love. It takes shape in family life when parents ask God to purify their ambitions so that their children become saints rather than celebrities. It becomes concrete when believers bring “spices” of service to neighbors who are hurting and to parishioners who feel forgotten. Pray the Rosary by meditating on the Passion and Resurrection with the Myrrhbearers in mind. Make a simple act of reparation each Friday for the wounds of the Body of Christ, which is the Church. Offer a hidden sacrifice for a suffering priest. Visit someone who mourns and bring the gentle presence that refuses to rush away. How does this saint invite a deeper, steadier yes to Jesus today? Let her maternal courage steady hearts that want to follow Christ without conditions. The Lord who met the women at the empty tomb is the same Lord who meets the faithful in every ordinary act of love.

Engage with Us!

Share your thoughts and reflections in the comments below. How does Saint Mary Salome speak to your life right now?

1. Where is the Lord asking for steady presence rather than spectacular results, and how can Mary Salome’s fidelity guide that response?
2. What ambitions for yourself or your family need to be handed to Jesus so He can reshape them for holiness and service?
3. Who in your life is “at the Cross” or “at the tomb,” and what concrete spices of prayer, time, or mercy can you bring this week?
4. How does the communion of saints encourage your prayer when faith feels costly or dry?

Be encouraged to live a life of faith that serves, stays, and loves with courage, doing everything with the love and mercy Jesus taught.

Saint Mary Salome, pray for us! 

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