FEAST OF ST, MARY MAGDALENE JULY 22
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace!”
“Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” But he said to the woman, your faith has saved you; go in peace!” Luke 7:44-50
REFLECTION
Jesus does not acknowledge his critics but addresses the repentant woman and praises her for her great love and faith and sends her on her way sanctified and redeemed. From that moment, Mary Magdalen became a faithful disciple and witness all the way to Calvary.
“So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little”
Does this mean if I am not a great sinner I will love Jesus less, not necessarily. I believe Jesus points out to Simon that this woman’s love is so dramatic because her love for God and her desire to be made whole is so strong.
Do we have that desire to be made whole again? Her Faith has saved her not on her own but through the grace of God. Pray for that faith.
Jesus asks Simon, “Do you see this woman? I place the emphasis on the word see because Jesus has told us “they have eyes but do not see and ears yet they do not hear” Mark 8:18
Jesus reminds us to focus, to see and listen, less we miss God’s presence especially in others. Do we miss God’s invitation due to noise and clutter in our world?
MARY MAGDALENE IN SCRIPTURE
In the 6th Century, Saint Pope Gregory the Great identified St. Mary Magdalen as the woman who anointed Christ’s feet with perfume in the home of Simon the Pharisee. In the New Testament Mary Magdalen is mentioned among the women who accompanied Christ and ministered to Him. Luke 8:2-3
Mary Magdalene is named as standing at the foot of the cross. “There were also women who ministered to him, looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome” Mark 15:40
…by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary wife of Clopas and Mary of Magdala. John 19:25
Mary Magdalene was the first to see the resurrected Christ, “When he had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons” Mark 16:9
Mary Magdalene followed the burial of Jesus to the tomb and saw where He was buried, and came on Sunday to anoint Him. She was rewarded with His appearance and commissioned to go evangelize and spread the Good News. He is Risen!
“Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew,”Rabbouni,”which means Teacher
DO NOT CLING TO ME
Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Mary then went and announced to the apostles, “I have seen the Lord, and what he told her”. John 20: 15-18
REFLECTION
When Jesus speaks to Mary Magdalene after the resurrection, “Do not cling to me.” John 20:17. Jesus invites us along with Mary Magdalene to enter into the experience of faith which goes beyond what can be discovered by our “senses.”
Remember Jesus’ words to Thomas after the resurrection behind closed doors, “Blessed are those who have not seen and believe.” John 20:29
Our first parents, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden spread death where there was life. Mary in the garden of the Resurrection announced life from the Holy Sepulchre, a place of death.
Saint Mary Magdalene is an example of true and authentic evangelization; she is an evangelist who announces the joyful central message of Easter. ”He is Risen!”