Today, the Church celebrates the Feast day of Saint Mary Magdalene, one of the greatest saints spoken of in the bible and a legendary example of God's mercy and grace.
The scriptures speak of her as one of a number of women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases who accompanied Jesus as he travelled from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God (Lk 8:1-2). She was one of the women who stood near the cross of Jesus and witnessed his crucifixion, along with his mother, his mother's sister, and Mary the wife of Clopas (Jn 19:25) and she is perhaps most fondly remembered as the first to go to the empty tomb, early in the morning on the first day of the week. In fear and disbelief, she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple ... and said: 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!' (Jn 20:1-2). For this reason, Mary Magdalene is known as the disciple (the one who was sent) to the apostles.
The writer of the gospel of John also speaks of another moment at which she received a vision of angels who helped her to strengthen her faith. Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she bent over and looked into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there ... where the body of Jesus had been. They said to her: 'Why are you weeping ... who are you looking for?' (Jn 20:10-15). Any of us who have experienced the death of a loved one can understand Mary's grief. Like her, there is a part of us that sits and weeps over the memory of the one who is no longer visible to us, but this was not the end of the story for Mary Magdalene, and it is not the end of the story for us either. Like her, we too must bend over and look again. When we do, the Lord will make his angels known to us, the ones who are sent to help us. They will gently invite us to tell our own story, and then they will help us to realize the truth that like the risen Jesus, our loved ones are no longer here. Instead, they are at peace, restored to wholeness in a glorified state, reunited with our God.
May Mary Magdalene intercede for all those who are seeking answers, especially those who have experienced the grief of being parted from someone they love through physical death. May she help us also to look to Jesus and to open our hearts so that we too can be assured that the risen Lord is present in our midst, and that our loved ones are at peace.
Have a great day.
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