“…Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.” (Luke 7:47).
The first witness to the Resurrection of Christ – as recorded in Sacred Scripture – was a woman. She was not just a woman, but a woman whose life before Christ had been a publicly sinful one.
The very first person who saw Christ Risen was Mary Magdalene. This was not an accident. God did not decide that whoever showed up on the day would be the lucky person to bump into the Risen Christ. This appearance was as intentional as the appearances of the Blessed Virgin to the Children at Fatima or the child Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes. It was as intentional as every single miracle that has ever occurred. It was as intentional to God as the moment of my conception was intentional to Him.
As part of His Divine plan, God made a point of appearing first – in His Risen form – to a woman who had once been very sinful. And He did this at a time when women – especially sinful women – could not serve as witnesses… Under Jewish Law, a witness was required to be a male. And this is why – perhaps in part – Mary Magdelene ran and called the Apostles to come and witness the Risen Lord… So that there would be MALE witnesses to Christ-Risen…
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb... she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?’” (John 20:1-2,11-18).
Mary Magdelene is a Saint. It is true that she was a notorious sinner, but it is not on her sins that she should be remembered, but on her love, “her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.” (Luke 7:47). You see, my sinful past should be no hinderance to my current holiness… After all, Saint Mary Magdelene, Saints Peter, Paul, Matthew, Augustine and even the Good Thief to whom Christ promised Paradise with His dying breaths, were all sinners who “loved much”. And because of this love, there was no hindrance to their holiness…
And it seems to me, in a world where women were so devalued that their word could not serve as a witness to anything, God went out of His way to choose a woman as His witness… And it seems to me that He did such a thing to prove a point. After all, that once-sinful woman loved Him very much. And it was upon her love for Him that He chose to focus.
And it seems that if I consider the message in this carefully, it would appear that such a love as that is something that I should be completely focused on. After all, it was only through that love that Saint Mary Magdelene was able to see the Risen Christ!
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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