Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
July 22, 2021
Daily Reading from the USCCB: John 20:1-2, 11-18
Saint John says that St. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter morning alone “while it was still dark” and saw that the stone had been removed. Mentioning that it was dark is symbolic in John’s Gospel for a situation that needs enlightening. Thinking that someone had removed the body, she ran to Peter and the other disciples to inform them of what she thought had happened. Later, St. Mary Magdalene mistakes Jesus for a gardener and asks him where he has put the body. It took those first disciples a while to comprehend what had taken place—Jesus was alive; he had risen.
We are often like St. Mary Magdalene and those early disciples—we are “in the dark” and don’t always understand what is going on. Our God can be mysterious and we sometimes miss the point or wonder what he is doing. We ask questions and grope for answers.
Maybe we can pray to St. Mary Magdalene for patience and insight—especially when we seem to be “in the dark” about our God. We can ask her to help us understand.
