Jn 20:11-18
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’
When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher).
Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to 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 and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Turning Sorrow into Joy
St. Ignatius has a name for what the risen Christ does: he exercises the office of the consoler. He goes around turning disappointment, sorrow and fear into indescribable joy.
Today it is Mary Magdalene’s turn. She recognizes Jesus not by sight, but by voice. Jesus had compared himself with a shepherd who calls his sheep by name. The sheep follow because they know his voice (John 10). Mary knew the voice of her beloved Jesus. Her weeping turned to joy. She became the apostle to the apostles, running off to tell the disciples what she has seen.
Do I recognize Jesus calling me by name, too? Can I let the joy of the resurrection penetrate so deeply in me that I must go tell others the Good News?
—David Kiblinger, SJ, is a deacon of the USA Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus studying theology at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. He will be ordained a priest this June.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we ask you now to help us remain with you always, to be close to you with all the ardor of our hearts, to take up joyfully the mission you entrust to us, and that is to continue your presence and spread the good news of your resurrection.
—Carlo Maria Martini, SJ