Good day to you all. Hope all goes well.
If you were to pick a “saint” from the Bible, who would you choose?
As you know I have long standing relationship with St. Anthony of Padua. But if I had to choose one from the New Testament I think I would choose St. Mary Magdalene.
There is much debate about this woman. Some hold that she was a woman of ill repute. That she was the one who came and anointed the Lord’s feet with her tears and wiped them with her heir.
Fr. Edward Mally, S.J. says she, “is not . . . the same as the sinner of Luke 7:37 despite the later Western romantic tradition about her.”
Be that as it may, we see her ministering to the Lord and the disciples and was among the women who followed the Lord and the disciples and took care of their need like cooking meals, washing clothes etc.
She was one of the only ones to have the nerve to stand by the Cross with the Lord’s mother and disciple John. She was one of the only ones who came to the tomb on the first day of the week to complete the burial rituals. She is the first person to whom the Lord appeared. She was the one whom the Lord sent to Peter and the others to tell them that He was going ahead of them to Galalee and because of that was give the title of the “Apostle to the Apostles.” (the origin of the word means, “One who is sent”)
We know from the Gospels that it was Mary who wept at the tomb, who, in her great grief did not even recognize Jesus until He call her by name, “Mary”.
Pope Francis tells us, “Sometimes in our live, “tears are the lenses we need to see Jesus.”
Mary of Madela (a small village in the Northern part of Isarel,) stands before us today a true model of the Christian life. Her life was altered, in ways that go beyond comprehension because of her encounter with the Lord. “St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us.”
Peace and All Good,
Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the
Bros and Srs of the
Franciscan House of Prayer.
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