Written by Sr. Rosemary Finnegan, O.P.
Readings from: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042319.cfm
Picture Mary Magdalen that early Sunday morning before dawn, alone at the tomb. Imagine her shock at seeing the stone rolled away and no body lying within. Think about what confusion she must have felt, wondering what had happened and what she should do next.
This short reflection by Jan Richardson who is an artist, writer, ordained United Methodist minister, and international retreat director who makes her home in Winter Park, captures Mary Magdalen’s experience in a simple and beautiful way:
Seen
You had not imagined
that something so empty
could fill you
to overflowing,
and now you carry
the knowledge
like an awful treasure
or like a child
that curls itself
within your heart:
how the emptiness
will bear forth
a new world
you cannot fathom
but on whose edge
you stand.
So why do you linger?
You have seen,
and so you are
already blessed.
You have been seen,
and so you are
the blessing.
There is no other word
you need.
There is simply
to go
and tell.
There is simply
to begin.
-Jan Richardson
Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons
In our gospel story, Mary thought she was talking to the gardener until she was called by name. At that very moment she recognized the Lord's voice, a voice she’d known from the day He healed her. She gave a joyful shout "Rabbi!" meaning "Teacher."
Respect and love, fondness and veneration, thankfulness and recognition all came together in that single outcry. She was able to say nothing more. She threw herself down at the feet of her Lord, then came to herself and ran to the Apostles who were still in dismay. She said with great joy, "I have seen the Lord!" With this, Mary Magdalen became the very first preacher of the Resurrection; it was she who first proclaimed this message to the Apostles themselves.
Then, when the Apostles departed from Jerusalem for preaching to all the ends of the earth, tradition says that Mary Magdalene, this daring woman, also went with them. Everywhere she went, she proclaimed to people about Christ and His Teaching. When many did not believe that Christ had risen, she repeated to them what she said to the Apostles on that radiant Resurrection morning: "I have seen the Lord!"
Mary responded to Jesus’ presence by becoming a witness herself. Through her words and actions, enthusiasm and zeal, she touched many hearts and captured many souls.
We, too, have seen the Lord. Like Mary, may we spread the good news of the Risen Lord by our joy and gratitude. As Jan Richardson writes in the concluding lines of her reflection:
There is no other word
you need.
There is simply
to go
and tell.
There is simply
to begin.
