Love drives us beyond our “selfwardness”, beyond our narrow vision, beyond our comfort zone, even beyond our natural limits, to desire, to seek, to do more than is necessary. Love for the Lord springs from our confidence that we are loved by the Lord, and prompts us to ask so that we will receive, seek so that we will find, knock so that it will be given to us.
Today we celebrate the Feast of Mary Magdalene, whose love for the Lord has her seeking Him and Him alone. She is undeterred by the risk of being arrested and apparently unmoved by the presence of two angels speaking to her. She is focused on finding anew the One Who has loved her into wholeness, to whom she has dedicated her life and her means, and the source of her joy and peace.
But when she turns away from the tomb, she does not see Jesus right in front of her. How can she miss this? Because she is looking for a dead body. She could not have guessed that Jesus was alive, glorified, and again at work in the world. She does not recognize the One she loves until He speaks her name.
This is a mistake we all can make: we are expecting the Lord to reveal Himself in a certain way, and so we cannot see Him when He works in surprising ways. He is, after all, a God of surprises. Often, we have lost our sense of wonder and awe and patient openness. We look for Him to answer our prayers in a specific way, in a specific time; when He says, “Actually, I have a better idea,” we cannot recognize His hand at work.
Today, let us open our whole selves to His presence in whatever way HE wills to reveal Himself; then, our seeking will always be rewarded because we will receive Him as He gives Himself, hear Him when He speaks what we truly need to hear and provides what we truly need to draw closer to Him in the way that He knows is best.
Mary Magdalene, pray for us, that we will receive the grace we need to see the Lord clearly in our lives every day. Then, we can say with you, “I have seen the Lord.”
Daily Reading
Feast of Saint James, Apostle
Reading 1 2 Cor 4:7-15 Brothers and sisters:We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.We are afflicted in every way,…
Saint of the Day
Saint James The Greater
Saint James, one of the favored three Apostles, witnessed the Transfiguration and was the first apostle to be martyred.
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