Today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalen! Mary Magdalene is mentioned in the Gospels as being among the women of Galilee who followed Jesus and His disciples, and who was present at His crucifixion and burial. It was Mary who went to the tomb on Easter Sunday to annoint Jesus' body. Also, She was the first to see the Risen Lord, and to announce His Resurrection to the apostles. She is referred to in early Christian writings as "the apostle to the apostles."The following comes from the Patron Saints Index:
When Mary Magdalen came to the tomb and did not find the Lord's body, she thought it had been taken away and so informed the disciples. After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text then says: "The disciples went back home," and it adds: "but Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb." We should reflect on Mary's attitude and the great love she felt for Christ; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found, and while she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him. For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth tell us: "Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved."
from a homily by Pope Saint Gregory the Great
2 comments:
in the eastern rite and with the orthodox she is equal to the apostles and is the holy mryyh bearer!
It's a bit late now, but I think the homily will be available in MP3 form soon enough from EWTN. But, Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan had the televised Mass this morning and spoke so beautiuflly of Mary Magdalene. He is visiting the US and is spending time at my parish. He spoke Sunday and is coming back again on the 27th to give two talks, on of which will be on his book, Dominus Est (still being translated into English).
He spoke today on Mary Magdalene in such a beautiful way. He said that we are all called to the vocation of the sainthood and that no one is out of reach for it. We learn this from the example of Mary Magdalen who had 7 demons cast out of her.
I was especially struck when he said that we should receive Jesus the same way as did Mary Magdalen - falling humbly to our knees before Him.
The bishop's book takes a closer look at how we receive Communion and an article based on the book appeared in the L'Osservatore Romano.
The Mass will be rebroadcast at midnight yet.
I have links in this post to that article in L'Osservatore Romano, photos from his visit on Sunday, and more.
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