St. Mary Magdalene's Story is Ours Too

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene, the woman who grew to love Jesus Christ with her whole being after He cast out seven devils from her (Luke 8:2). She recognized her need for repentance after an immoral life and her love for Her Lord and Savior became so great that she followed Him to His Death on Calvary. Her story is very much similar to our own in that we are all sinners who need to repent and be cleansed of our sinful ways and turn to Jesus to experience His love for us and fall in love with Him in return to the point where we will follow Him wherever He goes, even if it means going through suffering and even dying for Him.

Mary Magdalene was with Our Lord throughout His Passion and Death, and she was the first person He appeared to following His Resurrection. When she went to the tomb, she began to weep because she could not find Him, and Jesus came up behind her and asked who she was looking for her. She did not know it was Him and mistook Him for the gardener, asking Him to show her where He had taken Jesus if it was Him who moved the body. Jesus replied “Mary,” and Mary immediately recognized Him and replied “Rabboni,” which means “Teacher” (John 20:11-16). This is similar to the spiritual journey that we all experience. When we sin, particularly if it is a mortal sin, we are cut off from God, but if we repent and are truly sorrowful, we will weep because we have offended Him and until we are able to get to Confession, we are still in this state of mortal sin and it is as if we cannot find God anywhere in our souls. If we exhibit true repentance and show that it is really God we are seeking, our sins will be forgiven and God will call each of us by name to continue following Him and striving after perfection. This grace given to us by God is meant to move us to love God with all of our being and spend the rest of our lives in His service, just as Mary Magdalene did.

Once we are rid of all of our past demons, both when we receive the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we should learn to live a life of prayerful reflection during all of life’s situations and also meditate on Scripture and the truths of our Faith so that we can hear the voice of God saying our name, a name that only we will recognize once it is spoken. Although no one is quite sure how she lived out the rest of her days, there is one speculation that St. Mary Magdalene, after spending some time spreading the Gospel, retired to a life of solitude. She can help us to live out our call to reflection and meditation, even if we lead busy lives with families and work. If we ask her, she will also help us to love God with our whole being and be ready to suffer for Him. St. Mary Magdalene is all of us, and she will help us get from the first part of the story to the second.

St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us!