Jul 22 – Memorial for St. Mary Magdalene
There is actually very little solid information about her, and both scholars and traditions differ on the interpretation of what we do know.
She was a friend and follower of Jesus. Filled with sorrow over her sin, she anointed Christ, washed his feet with her hair. He exorcised seven demons from her. She was the first to have been visited by the Risen Christ. While there are several arguments about her life after the Crucifixion, the Greek Church maintains that she retired to Ephesus with the Blessed Virgin Mary and lived there the rest of her life.
Some things we do know for certain – Mary wasn’t Jesus’ wife or mistress, she wasn’t the mother of His child, and she didn’t found a royal dynasty or separate branch of Christianity.
- http://www.carr.org/~meripper/saints/saints-m.htm
- Patron Saint Index
Sg of Sgs 3:1-4
Jn 20:1-2, 11-18
Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?
As I read today’s gospel, I reflect upon my spiritual life in the past 3 years – beginning with the onset of the pandemic, and also my journey as a student (again).
The pandemic prevented us from socializing and mingling; we could not attend mass, nor be involved in our respective ministries in person. We made do with online masses and our ministries attempted to keep everyone together through Zoom sessions. I remember sitting alone in my study, looking at my computer screen at little windows of people, doing what we call ‘action songs’, which is essentially praise and worship with its accompanying actions. I thought to myself, “Anyone seeing me right now will think I have gone mad.”
I not only felt silly, but very detached and separated from everyone, and from God. For me, I need to be physically present with my fellow brothers and sisters in Church, and with my spiritual community. I know many amongst you reading this will say, ‘But God is everywhere and where your heart is.’ It’s true, God was and is with me, even in the most mundane of everyday tasks. However, we are all born as social beings, with an innate capacity for forming social connections. Nothing can substitute human connection. Even babies who are denied of contact have been shown to struggle, lose weight, and even die.
When I look back, I felt that I lost sight of God and became a lukewarm Christian. One thing that kept me going though, is the ability to attend mass in person when Singapore slowly opened up in 2020. The anxiety and madness of booking a mass each week — it was like winning the lottery, or getting tickets to a sell-out concert whenever we scored a seat at mass!
My spiritual life suffered when I started my studies. I got caught up with all the busyness of being a student. I left ministry (for a variety of reasons and mostly because I could not commit the time that I used to), I stopped attending weekday mass. I simply could not cope. Bad excuse, I know.
However, the consequences of those months when people stopped gathering are still being felt today, most notably in falling church attendance and activity. The pandemic gave many Christians on the periphery a reason to leave, or become uninvolved. I do feel sad when I hear of Catholics who have not returned to church, now that the pandemic is normalized. We’ve all gotten lazy. The longer we stay away from church, and the Christian community, the more we lack the motivation to go back and then before we know it, church becomes less of a priority for us. We stay away because we do not have a strong relationship with Christ, so the Holy Spirit is not compelling us to go. Our hearts become closed to God’s promptings and our eyes fail to see Him.
Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. In today’s gospel, Mary went looking for Jesus early in the morning, but did not find Him. Even when she finally met Him and spoke to Him, she failed to recognize Him. Like Mary, have I failed to recognize Jesus? We cry and mourn as we search for Jesus in our lives, but are unable to find him.
Jesus’ appearance to Mary Magdalene tells us not to give up. How many times in our lives has everything crumbled? We face betrayals, sorrow, pain, calamities, and a whole range of situations that can make us feel unworthy and lead to despair. However, when we trust in Jesus, and follow his ways, things happen and doors open, giving us new hope and showing us that love is stronger than defeat and death.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus is present with us, often in surprising ways. Jesus is there through the stranger who greets us with a smile, the friend who sits with us and comforts us in the darkest of times, or the priest who preaches the homily with words that strike our hearts. Only when Jesus calls us by name, do we recognise His voice, and our hearts overflow with joy and love.
I pray for all of us, that we experience once again, the delight of encountering the risen Christ in our lives.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Geraldine Nah)
Prayer: Grant to us, most merciful Father, that as the blessed Mary Magdalen, by loving Our Lord Jesus Christ above all things, won the forgiveness of her sins; so may she obtain for us, through Your mercy, everlasting happiness. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Thanksgiving: Thank you Jesus, for calling out to me, whenever I wander away from you. Thank you, Lord, for the blessings you have put onto my life. You have given me far more than I could have expected. You’ve surrounded me with angels and people who are always on the lookout for me.
OXYGEN 
Leave a comment