17 April 2012: Jesus appears to St Mary Magdalene

The two other Mary's left to announce the joyful news of the Resurrection, but Mary Magdalene stands “weeping outside the sepulchre” (Jn 20:11). Love for the Beloved of her soul, made her stay and caused those tears.
St Mary Magdalene offers us an example of a perfect contemplative. How close are we in being like her?
Despite all our advantages how come we are far from being one? “Because there are few who know how to remove themselves entirely from perishable creatures.” (Thomas à Kempis, “Imitation of Christ”)
St Mary Magdalene, lost in contemplation, remained with her eyes fixed upon the sepulchre. She saw “two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the Body of Jesus had been laid. They say to her, ‘Woman, why do you weep?’ She told them, ‘Because they took away my Lord; I know not where they have laid him’.” (Jn 20:13)
The only cause of St Mary Magdalene’s deep affliction was loss of the sensible presence of Jesus. How happy should we be if this were the only, or at least the primary, cause of our sorrows. The loss which once made us rejoice in our vocation; and find peace and consolation in the practice of virtue amidst privations and difficulties!
Jesus had been present invisibly while his faithful servant gave proofs of her love and sorrow. Pleased, he desired to reward her. “... she turned around and saw Jesus standing, she thought he is the gardener ... She said to him, ‘Sir, if you have taken him, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away’. Jesus said, ‘Mary!’” (Jn 20:14-6)
At that word she recognized her Lord, and threw herself at his feet. What consoling lessons! He appeared to whom? A penitent sinner!
How did she merit such great favor? The generosity of her love, her share in the Passion, ardent desire of seeing Jesus, and perseverance in seeking him.
Let us also desire to see Jesus glorified in heaven. Tell him often our love and prove it by our generosity in his service. Whatever may have been our past infidelity, we may be certain of a large share in his favors.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp204-6

Giving good example
This apostolate of giving doctrine makes us return many times to the same ideas. We must endeavour to present Our Lord’s teaching in an attractive manner.
The crowds today also wander “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mk 6:34), without a guide; don’t know in which direction to go, confused by so many short-lived ideologies.
No Christian should remain passive nor feel inhibited in this great task of doing apostolate. We must not make excuses. (‘I’m no good. I can’t. No time.’)
Apostolate is the Christian vocation, and God gives us the grace to correspond. Are we really a ray of light amidst so much darkness? Or are we bound by laziness or human respect?
We will be more apostolic if we sincerely consider, in the presence of God, that the people whose paths we have crossed had a right to expect from us the help to get to know Jesus better. How have we fulfilled this Christian duty?
Let us hope they will not reproach us, in this life or the next, for having deprived them of that help in words such as -- “... I don’t have anyone to plunge me into the pool ...” (Jn 5:7); I had no one to give me a little light in so much darkness.
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12); reaching the very depths of the soul, to the source of men’s life and behaviour.
A great ignorance about Our Lord persists after 20 centuries, even among many Christians! The Second Vatican Council teaches that Revelation came about with deeds and words intrinsically blended. (“Dei Verbum”)
The works of Jesus are those of God done in his name; simple people saying, “We have seen strange things” (Lk 5:26).
“The man who has the mission of saying great things (all Christians have this sweet obligation) is equally obliged to practise them.” (cf St Gregory the Great, “Pastoral Care”, 2, 3)
Our relatives, colleagues, and friends, must find us loyal, sincere, cheerful, optimistic, good at our job, resilient, pleasant, courageous. Simply and naturally, we must make known our faith in Christ.
Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:199-200

The Truth, Source of True Liberty
This marvelous task of liberty is accomplished according to Christ’s program and His Kingdom on the terrain of truth. Being free means achieving the fruits of liberty, acting in the truth.
Also knowing how to yield, how to submit to the truth; not to subject truth to oneself, to one’s fancies and will, to one’s interests at the moment.
Being free is not passive enjoyment, but the labor of liberty. At the price of such effort, man does not ‘waste’; but ‘gathers’ and ‘accumulates’ with Christ.
Man also obtains that unity in himself which is proper to the Kingdom of God. At the same price, too, families, social groups, societies, achieve similar unity: of truth with liberty; and of liberty with truth.
My dear friends! This unity is your particular task, unless you wish to want to surrender to the unity of that other program, that which seeks to accomplish itself in the world, in mankind, in our generation and in each of us, the program of whom Holy Scripture calls the father of lies (cf Jn 8:44).
Do not permit destruction of this interior unity, which, through the Holy Spirit, Christ constructs in the conscience of every one of you. Unity, where liberty grows out of truth; and truth is the measure of liberty.
Learn to think, speak and act according to principles of evangelical simplicity and clarity: Yes, yes; no, no. Learn to call white white, black black -- bad bad, good good.
Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, p120

Our Lady
493 Love our Lady. And she will obtain abundant grace to help you conquer in your daily struggle. And the enemy will gain nothing by those perversities that seem to boil up continually within you, trying to engulf in their fragrant corruption the high ideals, those sublime commands that Christ himself has placed in your heart. ‘Serviam!’ -- “I will serve!”
504 The holy Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, will bring relief to your heart, when it feels as if it’s made of flesh, if you have recourse to her with confidence.
Ref: Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, 'The Way'


• Our Lady of Arabida, in Portugal, where an image is seen which an English merchant used to carry about him. Finding himself one day in danger of shipwreck, he saw this image surrounded with a great light on top of the rock of Arabida, which induced him to build a little hermitage there, in which he spent the remainder of his days. — Triple Couronne, n. 16. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of Arabida, Portugal (16th Century). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); (http://mariedenazareth.com)
• Our Lady of Arabida (Portugal). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• “Nossa Senhora” / Our Lady of Arabida. Portugal. 16th Century. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of the Tears. (www.starharbor.com/santiago/m feasts.html)
• The Seven Dolors of Our Lady (traditional). Moveable feast -- Passion Sunday. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)