“But Mary stood at the sepulchre without, weeping. Now as she was weeping, she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre. And she saw two angels in white, sitting, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been laid. They say to her: ‘Woman, why weepest thou?’ She saith to them: ‘Because they have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid Him.’ When she had thus said, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing; and she knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith to her: ‘Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?’ She, thinking that it was the gardener, saith to Him: ‘Sir, if thou hast taken Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away’” (John 20, 11-15).
First Prelude:
Picture Mary Magdalen at the entrance to the grave, weeping, and seeking the Body of her Divine Master.
Second Prelude:
Grant me the grace, O my God, to seek Thee with an ardent desire, with humility and perseverance, and to renounce everything that might separate me from Thee.
First Point
Magdalen at The Sepulchre
Mary Magdalen came to the grave very early with the other women. Seeing the stone rolled back, she hastened to announce to Peter and John that the Body of the Lord had been stolen. Love urged her to return speedily to the tomb of the Master. The thought of the missing sacred Body, which may have become the object of the scorn of His enemies, tortured her distracted soul. Disconsolate and weeping, she gave vent to her sorrow. After a short time, full of ardent longing and fondly hoping to find Him Whom her soul loved, she stooped to look deeper into the cave. The women had again left the tomb, and the Apostles, too, had returned, but Magdalen could not tear herself away from the place that had enclosed her Master. How many tears may she have shed; how often repeated His adorable name! How was her soul occupied with the object of her love! Truly, of her may be said: “She hath loved much.” Let us test our love for Jesus. Do we, like Magdalen at the sepulchre, persevere in our resolution? How great is our desire to find Jesus in fervent prayer, in mortification and in retirement? Oh, that we would at least realize our great loss should we have forfeited the consolations of Jesus through tepidity! That like Magdalen we would persevere in seeking Him!
Let us note the utter indifference of Magdalen toward all that is not Jesus. On looking into the grave once more, she saw two angels, who said: “Woman, why weepest thou?” She answered: “Because they have taken away my Lord and I know not whither they have laid Him.” Nothing impressed her, not even the apparition of the angels,—their appearance did not seem to terrify, nor their splendor dazzle her. She saw and heard them; spoke to them only to gain information as to the whereabouts of her Master. When they told her nothing of the object of her love, she turned away from these heavenly messengers and directed her attention to the gardener, that he might tell her something of her beloved Master. Oh, that Jesus were so indelibly inscribed on our hearts that we would have no interest in anything that bears no relation to Him! Must we not be ashamed to feel a corporal privation very keenly while we remain indifferent to the lessening or the total loss of grace?
Second Point
The Admirable Courage of Magdalen
While Magdalen was seeking Jesus, He was near her and observed, with complacency, her tender affection. He is never remote from those who seek Him with all their hearts. He always takes our desire as the measure of His benefits, and if He sometimes tarries before answering our prayers, He does it with the intention of inspiring us with greater desire and esteem for His graces, that He may be able to impart them more generously. Oh, that we understood rightly how to secure Jesus to our souls, by recollection and love, how soon should we be perfect! Magdalen knew not that it was the Master, but believed Him to be the gardener, Whom, when He asked the cause of her sorrow, she answered immediately: “Sir, if Thou hast taken Him, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away.” What ample material for contemplation in this touching answer! She does not even name her Lord, but at once presses her request, as though every one knew of whom she spoke. She volunteers to get Him, weak woman that she is, never considering that the task is beyond her strength. Thus completely forgetting her weakness, she is ready to stake everything for her Master. Ah, when will Jesus find such generous dispositions in us! Alas, even among religious there are such as exert themselves beyond their strength in order to please men, or to satisfy self-love, but who, when there is question of denying themselves, or serving God, of advancing in perfection, only take counsel with their weakness, and consider everything impossible.
Oh, that we would once begin not only to declare our love for Jesus in words, but to glorify Him by magnanimity in His service!
Affections:
O illustrious servant of God, St. Mary Magdalen, glorious model for souls that love God! May we seek Him Who is the Bridegroom of our souls, the sole love of our hearts, with the fervor and zeal you manifested at the sepulchre. Assist us with thy intercession. O my beloved Saviour, replenish my heart with ardent longing to possess Thee, to be wholly Thine, and to love Thee with a love like that of Magdalen. Grant that I may find it impossible to live without Thee, that I may seek Thee everywhere, and find rest nowhere save where Thou art, the life of my soul, my Lord and my God!
Resolution:
Often during the day I will recall the presence of God and make an oblation of myself to His love.
Spiritual Bouquet:
“I will arise and seek Him Whom my soul loveth.”
Prayer:
Take, O Lord . . .
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