 clickable | | An Invitation to Resurrected Joy They say that Mary Magdalene becomes the apostle to the apostles after she encounters Jesus risen. I wonder now if what she might have to teach them is this: the message of a heart that is rejoicing with resurrection joy. Though she is unable to explain what happened or how Christ is here, she explodes with the impetuous and overwhelming joy that it is to recognize the resurrected Christ when he calls your name. I wonder if she was sent out as the apostle of the heart, the one who hurries to where the others, who try to figure it all out with their heads, have gone so she can awaken their hearts. Mary runs out to the apostles to tell them the good news so that they can stop trying to figure out the tomb and simply rejoice. When she reaches out for Jesus in the garden, he tells her that she cannot hold on to him. As much as I am sure her heart would have liked to stay there in that moment forever, in that cocoon where it was just her and her Lord, her heart awakening to the "alleluia" life of the resurrection, she has a job to do. This joy is not meant only for her. It belongs to all his followers, to the whole world. She is sent to the apostles, who are then sent to the ends of the earth. Mary Magdalene bears the Good News to the Good News bearers. She is the first to know resurrection joy and the first to share it. —from the book Who Does He Say You Are? Women Transformed by Christ in the Gospels by Colleen Mitchell |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"Let us thank God for having called us to His holy faith. It is a great gift, and the number of those who thank God for it is small."
— St. Alphonsus Liguori †MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"God loves everyone with unique love; he wants to lead them all to perfection, but at the same time has very different paths for different people. This means that the frequency and characteristics of the inspirations of grace will differ from one person to another. We cannot force the Spirit, God is the master of his gifts. That said, it cannot be doubted that God will grant each person at least the inspirations he needs for his own sanctification."
— Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 26
AN EXCERPT FROM
In the School of the Holy Spirit † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen."
1 Peter 5:8-11 |  click to read more | | ST. MARY MAGDALENE St. Mary Magdalen (1st c.) was a friend and devoted follower of Jesus Christ, a reformed woman once of ill repute, out of whom He exorcised seven demons. Mary Magdalene has a special place among Jesus' disciples and is mentioned several times in the Gospels. It is believed that she is the same penitent woman, Mary of Bethany, who anointed the feet of Jesus before his Passion, and the sister of Lazarus and Martha. She stood at the foot of the Cross with St. John and the Blessed Mother, and the next morning went to Christ's tomb to anoint his body. As a reward for her great love and faithfulness, she is the first recorded witness of Jesus' Resurrection. It was Mary Magdalene who informed the twelve Apostles that Jesus rose from the dead, and for this she is called "Apostle to the Apostles." After Jesus' Ascension into heaven, Mary Magdalene continued her mission as an evangelist, contemplative, and mystic in the heart of the Church. According to the Eastern tradition, she went to Ephesus with the Virgin Mary and died there. According to the Western tradition, she, along with her siblings Martha and Lazarus, were exiled from Israel and shipped out to sea, landing in Marseilles, France. Mary Magdalene evangelized and converted the Provence region, and lived in a cave doing penance for thirty years until her death. St. Mary Magdalene is the patron of women, repentant sinners, penitent women, reformed prostitutes, contemplatives, converts, pharmacists, perfumers, hairstylists, and against sexual temptation. Her feast day is July 22nd. | Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene Lectionary: 603
Reading 1 Sgs 3:1-4b The Bride says:
On my bed at night I sought him
whom my heart loves–
I sought him but I did not find him.
I will rise then and go about the city;
in the streets and crossings I will seek
Him whom my heart loves.
I sought him but I did not find him.
The watchmen came upon me,
as they made their rounds of the city:
Have you seen him whom my heart loves?
I had hardly left them
when I found him whom my heart loves. OR 2 Cor 5:14-17 Brothers and sisters:
The love of Christ impels us,
once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;
therefore, all have died.
He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh;
even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh,
yet now we know him so no longer.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come. Responsorial Psalm Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 R. (2) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Tell us Mary, what did you see on the way?
I saw the glory of the risen Christ, I saw his empty tomb.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 20:1-2, 11-18 On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
"They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don't know where they put him." Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"
She said to them, "They have taken my Lord,
and I don't know where they laid him."
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?"
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
"Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him."
Jesus said to her, "Mary!"
She turned and said to him in Hebrew,
"Rabbouni," which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her,
"Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
'I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.'"
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples,
"I have seen the Lord,"
and then reported what he told her. | Daily Meditation: John 20:1-2, 11-18 Mary! (John 20:16) When Jesus freed Mary Magdalene from seven demons, he did more than just heal her (Luke 8:2). He changed the entire direction of her life. The man who had made her whole again now became the center of her life. She left her fishing village of Magdala and became one of Jesus' disciples. She would follow him wherever he went. Eventually that would lead to the cross. While most of his disciples fled, fearing arrest, Mary chose to stay close to Jesus, no matter the cost. She watched as he gave up his spirit, as he was taken down from the cross, as his beaten body was hurriedly prepared for burial and placed in the tomb. And even then, Mary couldn't stand to be away from him. The next morning, she hastened to the tomb to anoint him. But what might Mary have been thinking as she made her way to there? The man I thought was going to save Israel, the man who saved me, has been executed. I staked my life on him. What am I supposed to do now? In the instant that Jesus said her name, Mary knew that death had not been able to defeat Jesus. He was alive! And so were her hopes and dreams. She had not spent the past few years in vain. Everything she had given up to follow the Lord had been more than worth it. Her life would continue to have meaning and purpose. She would still be Jesus' disciple, and now she would also proclaim his resurrection. What is the meaning and purpose of your life? Is it to love and serve Jesus? Mary Magdalene would tell you there is no greater thing you can do. She would tell you that it is worth everything—your time, your possessions, your energy, and even some pleasures in life—to follow him. Because he will always love you. Because he will never leave you. And because his plans for you are always greater than anything you could ever conceive of or imagine. Someday you will meet the risen Lord face-to-face. He will call you by name, and you will recognize him, just as Mary did, because you staked your life on him. "Lord, may you always be the center of my life." Song of Songs 3:1-4
Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9 |  clickable | The silence of God is often his best communication. Silence may be thought an unacceptable absence of God. Not so, for it is his divine way to reinforce the deeper truth of the mystery of his near presence, especially in his presence in the Eucharist.
— Fr. Donald Haggerty
from Contemplative Enigmas | my2cents:
"Have you seen him whom my heart loves?"
The song here speaks of someone who loves someone. And let us think of clean love from now on. Not erotic. Not romantic, but a pure love. Sister Anne Emmerich, Blessed, had visions of Mary. She recounts that after our Lord's crucifixion, that night she wandered in the dark streets, and she mopped up every last drop of blood of Christ her son, inasmuch as she could, solemnly, sorrowfully. She expresses fully what love of Christ means, for she loved Him dearly, a true lover. Can you be a true lover my child? I believe you can. A true lover is beyond a believer, but a believer becomes a lover. And we hear the words of a convert: "So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come." | We pray today: " My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. O God, you are my God whom I seek; for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water." A thirsty soul is a good soul. Take the words from the dying on a cross...our Lord Himself: "I Thirst". My soul is thirsting for you. He was speaking in His language...Psalms, psalms and songs written centuries before He walked the earth: I thirst for YOU my child. I thirst and I die for you my child. Can God be thirsty still? If His is an eternal sacrifice on the cross...then yes, He thirsts. There is an eternity and a limitless banquet awaiting. He thirsts, He desires, but more...He needs. Is this a true desire? Ask HIM "do You thirst for me?". Ask Him as you kneel before the cross. Put yourself in the eyes of Mary, any Mary that was there. The answer won't be heard as you kneel, not with audible human ears, but He speaks in silence, a communication few can dare to speak through. This is how he answered most of the time to kings of the earth, and they couldn't understand or hear Him. | "Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping." She had been weeping before He was crucified, during His crucifixion, and now after the crucifixion. What a life of a follower and lover of Christ. Sadness? Let us examine the cries of the poor.
Before He was crucified, she wept out of shear gratefulness for Him having healed her through exorcism and love. She anointed His feet with her tears.
During the crucifixion she cried, wailed aloud, lamenting the brutal violence unfurled on the very cause of her salvation, to which our Lord exclaimed as He dragged the cross: " "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed. At that time 'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"'c 31For if men do these things while the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
Mary of Magdala was dying inside. She cried, wailed aloud.
And after His death, she sought Him. She wept at the tomb. Recall the Psalm: "Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy."
As she cried, angels appeared and among them, the King of Angels. "whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come." | What happens is transforming. A continuous transformation begins. The resurrection is a transformation. The old passed and the new comes. I am about to cover for two funerals this week, and one ex-uncle passed making a third. I did not know my ex uncle was sick. I did not know he had passed. I did not know the last time I saw him was the last time I'd ever see him again. There is a sadness in my heart. There is a great depression enveloping the nation, perhaps over the world, but it started long ago. When did it start? It started when the love of Christ began to fail. How did that happen? The love of other things began. Remember the lover? Remember the pure lover? What other loves began? Those my friend are idols. Other directions. Other ways. Other lives chosen. And then, tears of depression roll, but not tears for Christ. Tears of self implosion burn the face, but not of regret. Tears of thirst, but not for God. Yet, God thirsts for souls. He thirsts and pines and longs for you, His child. He made room in His great Mansion, a dwelling so immense, one could never see the end. And He fills it with those that turn to Him. What are we? Who are we? Where have we been, and where are we going? My friend, that decision is yours.
Celebrate with me, it's my baptismal birthday! I was baptized on this day, find out when you were baptized, and celebrate. This day, I was incorporated into the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. Recall the day I told you the time I was zapped out of this earth and saw our Lord crucified in the darkness of the world? In this vision/visitation of that pivotal moment, I was lost and I saw there what my heart knew was true...there hung Our Father. Looking back, is that what Mary felt at the foot of the cross? MY FATHER is dying on the cross for ME!! That changes everything. Mary was fatherless, and now that she found Him, He's dying for no good reason apparently? And He's dying for her personally? DADDY!!! Was the crying sobs from the heart as ....Jesus looked to the Heavens: ABBA!!! It had to be, like when a woman gives birth to new life. They say always a piece of baby flesh or dna remains in the woman, forever a connection. God does this so we are always connected....to Him in this process of baptism, a birth into His life.
Mary of Magdalene, pray for us as we weep for Christ, not for ourselves.
We thirst for Him. We don't know where He is.
We are a lost generation. Help us find Him. Help us find the Way.
Help us find the Truth.
Help us find the LIFE.... Pray for us | Random Bible verse from an online generator:
Eph 4:29
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. and: Do Not Grow Weary
Heb12
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit my website Going4th.com, surely you'll find me there. God Bless You! Share the Word. Share this, share what is good | |
