Mary came from a town called Magdala by the Sea of Galilee. She appears in the Gospels as a close and faithful follower of Jesus.
Jesus healed her of seven demons. She also appears in Luke’s Gospel as one of the women who supported Jesus and the male disciples.
All four Gospel writers mention her at the foot of the cross.
She is also one of those who go early to the tomb on Sunday morning to anoint the body of Jesus, but instead finds she is given the task of announcing the resurrection to the other disciples.
So she is now called the Apostle of the Apostles.
One of Jesus’ disciples.
Quote
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. …Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.”Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ
Today’s Scripture
Matthew 27: New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. 58
He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59
So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. 61
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
Thought for the Day
Which way are you looking? Mary Magdalene is focused on Jesus’ tomb.
All her hopes, her dreams have been destroyed.
How could it be that the Messiah, the Saviour, be crucified, dead and buried?
Sometimes our hopes and dreams for our lives, for the lives of others, for our world, can seem dead and buried.
Believing, believing that God has not abandoned us, that the God who came to us as Emmanuel – God with us – is still with us, believing, trusting, waiting – how difficult this can be.
Music
Donation
We are happy to provide this retreat for free. But we do have expenses, so if you appreciate it, we would be grateful for a donation of whatever size you can afford.
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