Gospel Reading – John 20: 1-2,11-18
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb.
As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’
When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher).
Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
The Gospel of the Lord
The Mass intention is for
Reflection:
Today we celebrate the feast of Mary Magdalene, whom Pope Francis calls the Apostle of the apostles: she was the one sent by the Risen Jesus to announce the Resurrection to the Apostles. I reflect on the important role this woman was given by Jesus, and on the role of women in the Church today. I thank God for all the women who helped me know Jesus better, and pray that the Church finds ways of giving women their proper place in her ministry and leadership structures.
I have seen the Lord! This was Mary’s message: the apostle of the resurrection can only be a witness, someone who has already met the Risen Jesus. I look at my relationship with Jesus, and ask for the grace to know him better so that I can take him to others out of the fullness of my heart.
- How does the grace of Jesus Resurrection affect me?
- Have you like Mary Magdalene, ever spoken to someone about Jesus Resurrection? If not why not?