St. Mary Magdalene, Feast

Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. In the Gospel, we come across Mary Magdalene who came to the tomb while it was still dark. She sees the stone which covered the tomb has been moved away and does not enter. Instead, she remained outside the tomb and was weeping. Grief can sometimes blind us to what is reality, and grief had blinded Mary Magdalene into thinking that Jesus' body had been taken away, when she said: "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have put him." But what Mary Magdalene failed to realise is that Jesus had risen. It was only when Jesus said to her, "Mary!" that she realised that she was standing face to face with Jesus, and not just the gardener.

What about us? Have we allowed our grief and our weeping to blind us to what is reality? Have we forgotten that Jesus is risen and is in our midst? No matter how difficult or challenging the circumstances we may be in, let us not forget that the Lord Jesus has risen, He has conquered death and He has saved us from our sins. Let us not grief any longer, but rejoice, for our God has won a great victory for us, and let us be humble and willing to let Jesus be our help and guide.

St. Mary Magdalene, Feast

Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. In the Gospel, we come across Mary Magdalene who came to the tomb while it was still dark. She sees the stone which covered the tomb has been moved away and does not enter. Perhaps, she was afraid, perhaps she was unsure what to expect, but instead of entering the tomb, she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. Sometimes we too are like Mary of Magdalene. Instead of going further to discover what has happened, we choose to run away. We are not prepared to go further or deeper because we fear that we may not find what we were expecting or we fear that we would not be prepared to face what is inside. But unless we are willing to take the risk and enter the tomb, we will always be standing outside speculating, wondering, guessing, never knowing the truth, as we see in what Mary of Magdalene said in the Gospel: "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have put him." It was only when Jesus said to her, "Mary!" that she realised that she was standing face to face with Jesus, and not just the gardener.

Some people go through life without making important decisions; or they stay clear of commitment; or they fear going deeper into any relationship because they are fearful or are not prepared to face the changes that may take place. But unless we are prepared to take the risk, unless we are prepared to make the commitment, unless we are prepared to go deeper or further, we will always remain outside fearful, doubtful and uncertain, and we will be stuck with the question: "What if." Let us not be afraid for the Lord is risen, it is the Lord who is calling us to risk it all, and it is the Lord who will be our guide.