Gospel: July 22, 2025
July 22, 2025 (Tuesday)
Feast of St. Mary Magdalene
Psalter: Proper / (White)
Ps 63: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
1st Reading: Song of Songs 3:1-4b (or 2 Corinthians 5:14-17)
On my bed at night I looked for the one I love, I sought him without finding him; I called him and he did not answer. I will rise and go about the city, through the streets and the squares; I will seek the love of my heart… I sought him without finding him; the watchmen came upon me, those who patrol the city. “Have you seen the love of my heart?” As soon as I left them, I found the love of my heart.
Gospel: John 20:1-2, 11-18
Now, on the first day after the Sabbath, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark, and she saw that the stone blocking the tomb had been moved away. She ran to Peter, and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and she said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have laid him.” Mary stood weeping outside the tomb; and as she wept, she bent down to look inside. She saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, and the other at the feet. They said, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She answered, “Because they have taken my Lord and I don’t know where they have put him.” As she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognize him. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and answered him, “Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and take him away.” Jesus said to her, Mary!” She turned, and said to him, “Rabboni!” which means Master. Jesus said to her, “Do not touch me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them: I am ascending to my Father, who is your Father, to my God, who is your God.” So Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord, and this is what he said to me.”
Reflection:
“I have seen the Lord,”
Saint Thomas Aquinas called Saint Mary Magdalene “apostola apostolorum”—the apostle to the apostles—as she was the first to meet the Risen Lord and to tell others about him. “I have seen the Lord, and this is what he said to me.” Mary Magdalene’s great love for her Master did not dissipate with his death on the cross. She does not walk away from him in despair. Rather, her love and sorrow mingle in her tears as she approaches the tomb to tend to Christ’s body, but he is not there. Mary’s distress and confusion prevent her from realizing that the two individuals speaking to her are angels. She simply answers their question, without understanding the meaning of the empty tomb and the angels’ presence. Her sorrow and distress also prevent her from recognizing the man who stands beside her, but when he pronounces her name all confusion and sorrow vanish and turn to joy. Bewilderment turns into understanding, too, as Mary realizes that her Master is not only alive, but that he is the Lord, who has commanded her to go and spread the Good News. We share in the same mission, the mission of the whole Church.
