22 July 2020
Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
Today is the feast of St. Mary Magdalene. No one loved Christ more than she. For this reason, after seeing the empty tomb, her action described in today’s Gospel seems pertinent.
The first person she sought out for direction was Peter, the man who had denied Christ, but also the chief of the apostles, the Rock, the vicar of Christ on earth.
There are many Magdalenes living among us today, women – men too – who love Christ deeply and who miss him profoundly because the bishops have created empty tombs in the churches. Masses are no longer easily accessible because of the virus. The Eucharistic Christ is hidden.
I have heard some make harsh judgments against bishops, who are in a sense Peter on the spot. Perhaps we could all take a lesson from Mary, who later saw Christ in the gardener.
Let us pray today to Mary to obtain the grace to criticize less and pray more for our bishops, that they may be given courage and prudence, and that all of us be given an abundance of the graces the Lord bestowed on Mary Magdalene.