One Minute Reflection – 22 July – Feast of St Mary of Magdala – Readings: Song of Solomon 3:1-4, Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9, John 20:1-2, 11-18
“Jesus said to her: Mary! She turned and said to him… Teacher!”… John 20:16
REFLECTION – “The true lover’s delight is centred on his beloved, that is why St Paul treated everything else as “refuse” compared with the high privilege of knowing his Saviour (Phil 3,8). That is why the bride in the Song of Songs thinks only of her beloved: “All mine, my true love and I all his… Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” (2,16; 3,3)…
That illustrious lover, Mary Magdalene, encountered angels at the tomb, surely they addressed her angelically (gently, I mean), anxious to allay her sorrow. Utterly disconsolate as she was, however, she could take no comfort from their kindly greeting, their shining garments, their heavenly bearing, or the wondrous beauty of their features; still weeping, “They have carried away my Lord,” she said, “and I cannot tell where they have taken him.” Turning round, she saw her sweet Saviour but he looked like a gardener, so she was not interested. Loving thoughts of her Master’s death filled her heart, what need had she of flowers, of gardeners? Cross, nails and thorns occupied her thoughts; she was looking for her crucified lover. “If it is you, sir,” she said to the gardener, “if it is you who have carried off my beloved Lord’s body, tell me quickly where you have put him, and I will take him away.”
But no sooner did He breathe her name than her grief dissolved into delight – “Rabboni!” she said, “Master!”… To magnify her royal lover still further, the soul must have eyes only for Him, in other words, with an ever-growing, anxiously eager attentiveness. the soul must study all the details of His beauty, His perfections, must keep on discovering motives for finding ever-increasing gratification in the ineffable Beauty with which it is in love.” … St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) – Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church Treatise on the love of God, 5, 7
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ made Mary of Magdala the first herald of Easter joy. Grant that, following her example and helped by her prayers, we may, in this life, proclaim the living Christ and come to see Him reigning with You in glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
