John 20.1-2.11-18 – Saint Mary Magdalene – Feast
Mary Magdalene is one of the most extraordinary characters in the Gospel. Perhaps precisely for this reason Jesus entrusts the first announcement of the Resurrection to her. Mary is the paradigm of a person who was profoundly liberated and who, precisely for this reason, learned to love with an equally profound gratitude. Those who have truly experienced being saved do not easily forget the One who saved them. It is this love that keeps Mary close to Jesus even in the face of the evidence of his death. Everything seems over, yet she continues to look for him. Why there are loves stronger even than death.
And it is precisely to a woman who loves in this way that the Risen One chooses to manifest himself first. But Jesus does not reveal himself through a sensational sign. He does something much more intimate: he calls her name. Maria recognizes it when she feels recognized. This is perhaps one of the most profound experiences of faith. The risen Christ is not an idea to be understood, but Someone who knows us personally, who he reaches us in our tears and pronounces our name. And immediately after calling her, Jesus entrusts her with a mission: “Go to my brothers”. The authentic encounter with Christ never keeps us only for ourselves. Those who feel sought become capable of seeking others. Whoever finds himself called becomes capable of calling. Anyone who has met the Risen One inevitably becomes an envoy.
Mary Magdalene thus also teaches us what it means to evangelize. When he reaches the disciples he does not offer a theory on the Resurrection and does not construct a complicated reasoning. He simply says: “I have seen the Lord.” All Christianity begins from this experience. Perhaps the problem with much of our evangelization is that let’s try to explain something we should encounter first. The Gospel becomes credible when it is born from the encounter with Christ. We can only truly talk about what, in some way, we have experienced.
Wednesday 22 July 2026 – (St. Mary Magdalene – Feast)
