20200722 A WOMAN IN TOUCH WITH HER FEELINGS
22 July, 2020, Wednesday, St Mary Magdalene
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: White.
First reading
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Song of Songs 3:1-4 ©
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I found him whom my heart loves
The bride says this:
On my bed, at night, I sought him
whom my heart loves.
I sought but did not find him.
So I will rise and go through the City;
in the streets and in the squares
I will seek him whom my heart loves.
I sought but did not find him.
The watchmen came upon me
on their rounds in the City:
‘Have you seen him whom my heart loves?’
Scarcely had I passed them
when I found him whom my heart loves.
Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 62(63):2-6,8-9 ©
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For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God, for you I long;
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry, weary land without water.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life,
my lips will speak your praise.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.
So I will bless you all my life,
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,
my mouth shall praise you with joy.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.
For you have been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand holds me fast.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.
Gospel Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Tell us, Mary: say
what thou didst see upon the way.
– The tomb the Living did enclose;
I saw Christ’s glory as he rose!
Alleluia!
The following reading is proper to the memorial, and must be used even if you have otherwise chosen to use the ferial readings.
Gospel
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John 20:1-2,11-18 ©
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'Mary, go and find the brothers and tell them'
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’
Meanwhile Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master. Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.
A WOMAN IN TOUCH WITH HER FEELINGS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [SOS 3:1-4, OR 2 COR 5:14-17; PS 63: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9; JN 20: 1-2, 11-18]
Most of us are reserved about our feelings, even for our loved ones. Society has taught us to be “civilized” and not to express our feelings too openly as it is considered improper. We hold back from telling our loved ones our true feelings for them for fear of rejection, or appearing silly. So it appears that this social distancing was already in place long before the Covid-19, although presently made worse by this pandemic. Many of us are forced to use technology to communicate. Whilst it is better than not having any personal contact at all, we also risk losing our human touch, and most of all, our humanity.
However, technology is a double-edged sword, especially as social communication tools, because it can also be used to abuse people we do not like. What we say under the anonymity of an email address or a pseudonym would often not have been said when we are present in person. Technology helps us to hide our personal feelings which we dare not express in person. Indeed, if we continue too long in this state of physical and social distancing, we will eventually become so distant from each other that we lose our feelings for one another. Without intimacy and warmth, we become strangers.
The truth is that as human beings we need the human touch to communicate our fears, sorrows, pains and joys. We need to express our feelings. Indeed, happiness in life is more than what we think but how we feel about something or some event in our lives. Our memory of past events can evoke pleasant or unpleasant feelings, sadness or joy, anger or forgiveness, regret or gratitude. This is why some of us live in our memories. This can also impact our attitude towards the future as well because our past colours our views.
The story of Mary Magdalene gives us courage to express our feelings. She was a woman who was not afraid to allow her humanity to be seen. She had been through a difficult life herself. St Luke’s gospel presents her as one of the women who accompanied Jesus and the Twelve in their ministry. “Some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.” (Lk 8:2f) She must have had a tormented life until the Lord set her free from the oppression of the evil one and her sins.
St Luke narrated the story of a sinful woman who brought an alabaster jar of ointment, and standing behind the feet of our Lord, “weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.” (Lk 7:38) Jesus said, ‘”Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”‘ (Lk 7:47-50) Tradition presumed that this unnamed sinful woman was probably Mary Magdalene although scholars are not too sure. Perhaps, because she was delivered from her sins, she was able to give her life completely to be at the service of Jesus, out of deep gratitude. When we have been loved deeply, we want to give ourselves entirely to the person who has loved us unconditionally. Indeed, this gratitude and love for Jesus was also expressed profusely in her following Jesus to His passion. We read that “standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” (Jn 19:25) She did not stop loving Jesus at the Cross but even after He was buried in the tomb. She went to look for Him.
Mary Magdalene, having found Jesus, and moved and touched by His mercy and love, could never let Him go. She persevered in her love for the Lord, regardless of what happened to Him. She clung to Jesus, dead or alive. When He died, Mary Magdalene stayed close to Him. We read in the gospel, “It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciples, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we don’t know where they have put him.'”
As before, Mary did not suppress her emotions when she thought the body of Jesus was stolen. She allowed her humanity and love for our Lord to be seen. “Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet.” Her tears for Jesus whom she could not find were inconsolable. So much so, she did not even recognize the angels who spoke to her or even our Lord as well. She thought Jesus was the gardener as she was overcome with grief. Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father.” She had to learn detachment.
What we see truly in Mary Magdalene is a woman who was deeply in love with our Lord. It was the same sentiment that Paul had for Christ. He too was a great sinner but God forgave him and chose him to be His apostle to the Gentiles. Hence, he wrote, “The love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead; and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them.” (2 Cor 5:14f) Anyone who has encountered the love and mercy of the Lord would love Him deeply. Having been healed by the merciful love of our Lord, St Paul, like Mary Magdalene, became His apostle of love and mercy. Love is never ashamed of letting the world know who its beloved is. We want the world to know whom we love and how much we love our beloved.
Once we are in love with our Lord, we see everything through the eyes of our Lord and our beloved. St Paul wrote, “From now onwards, therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh. Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh that is not how we know him now. And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here.” (2 Cor 5:16f) Love gives us a new vision. When we love, we see life very differently, and people as well. Those who have not encountered love will never understand the heart of one who is in love. When we love, we beat with one heart with Jesus in the way we love God and our brothers and sisters. Like Mary Magdalene, we will quickly go and tell others the good news that Jesus is Risen in us.
Hence, we must pray that we fall in love with the Lord so that we too can share in the joy of Mary Magdalene and St Paul who have experienced Jesus’ unconditional love and mercy. Perhaps we are too distracted by too many things in life, especially by the things of the world and too numb to experience the emptiness of our hearts and our souls. Perhaps we are unaware of our sinfulness, like the Pharisees who criticized the sinful woman who washed the feet of our Lord with her tears. We must be like the psalmist who says, “O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water. So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory. For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise.” It is a love that yearns for our beloved as described in the Book of Songs. When we love, like Mary Magdalene, we seek for the Lord. “The bride says this: On my bed, at night, I sought him whom my heart loves. I sought but did not find him. So I will rise and go through the City; in the streets and the squares I will seek him whom my heart loves. Scarcely had I passed them than I found him whom my heart loves.” (Songs 3:1-2,4) Let our soul thirst for Him so that we can be filled with His love so that with St Mary Magdalene, we too can be apostles of love.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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