ST. MARY MAGDALENE - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Tell us, Mary: say

what thou didst see upon the way.

– The tomb the Living did enclose;

I saw Christ’s glory as he rose!

SONG OF SONGS 3:1-4

My Soul's Beloved,

Not in the world, nor the flesh, nor the devil will we find our deepest needs met but only in You O Lord. God has created within our finite bodies our eternal souls which reach out, hunger, and thirst for the infinite. It is only when we withdraw into the silence away from the garish sounds, distractions, and discordant noise of the world and enter into that haven of peace in our soul that we can encounter You, O Lord, our Spouse, our Lover, our Beloved, the Bridegroom of our soul.

O Lord, my God, this is a journey that every soul must make once it is awakened by the hunger, the earning, the unassailable need for more than what the world around us and our senses demand. We cannot find anything outside ourselves to feed our hunger and assuage our thirst, but You Lord, who tabernacle within us, who desire to make Your sanctuary in our sinful and unworthy souls and desire our love even though You are God and need nothing, yet You pursue us relentlessly, lovingly, patiently, You woo us more tenderly than anything that our human imagining can hope or long for. You are all we ever need. You O Lord are enough and more than enough for You alone O lord can satisfy our need for all that is true, good, holy, perfect, and beautiful.

O Lord, my God, I find You whom my heart loves each time I receive You in Holy Communion and each time I come before You in the Blessed Sacrament. Thank You Lord, for filling and satisfying my hungry heart always.

PSALM 62(63):2-6,8-9

O God, you are my God, for you I long;

  for you my soul is thirsting.

My body pines for you

  like a dry, weary land without water.

So I gaze on you in the sanctuary

  to see your strength and your glory.

For your love is better than life,

  my lips will speak your praise.

So I will bless you all my life,

  in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,

  my mouth shall praise you with joy.

For you have been my help;

  in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.

My soul clings to you;

For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

JOHN 20:1-2,11-18

My Soul's Beloved,

Often in our lives, we will have to suffer painful loss when those we have loved well in this life are no longer with us. Losing a spouse, a parent, and most especially a child can be devastating and we are often mad with grief for a while. As long as we live in the darkness of our overwhelming sorrow, as long as we are weighed down with it we are deaf and blind to light and to hope. Our grief is wound around us, and our hearts and souls are smothered. Much like Mary of Magdala that Easter dawn. She who sat at Your feet and listened to You. She who had witnessed the raising from the dead of her brother, Lazarus, she who had heard You speak of Your death and Your resurrection often, could recall none of this so wrapped up was she in her own sorrow and loss. 

We are so like her. Too often we permit the terrible tragedies in our lives to permeate every cell of our being that we forget who we are, children of God, redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. The tomb is empty - this is the Truth, and because of the empty tomb we have hope despite all the terrible things that we experience in this broken world and because of our broken, sinful lives. THE TOMB IS EMPTY.

Mary ran to Simon Peter and John and conveyed her fears to them. She saw the empty tomb but she didn't understand its significance despite knowing what You so often assured Your disciples - YOU WOULD RISE AGAIN on the third day. Death could not hold You. Mary returned to the tomb to continue to weep and grieve for she could think of nothing else but her loss of her Beloved Friend, Master, Brother, and Teacher. Not even when the angels dialogue with her does she understand,   ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’

Even when she turns around  and sees You standing there she does not recognise You. You ask her the same question the angels did, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing You to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ It is only until You say her name, ‘Mary!’ that she knows and recognises You and gladly and eagerly responds, ‘Rabbuni!’

She wanted to cling on to You, hold on to You but that way of knowing You before Your resurrection has ended. A new era begins. We are reminded of the urgency of the mission, we are commanded and we must act. Now is the time while today lasts to do what we were created to do - know You, love You, serve You, and make You known to all so that one day we will all belong to You and reign with You in the new heavens and the new earth that You will bring about at Your glorious second coming. Maranatha! Lord Jesus! Maranatha!

‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.