When We Hear the Voice of Our Beloved
How often do we search for God with the same perseverance as St. Mary Magdalene? She accompanied the Blessed Virgin throughout the Passion of Our Lord and was a witness to all the sorrowful events of that day. She was at the Foot of His Cross during His Crucifixion and Death. And when she visited the Tomb early on that first Easter morning, she stayed there, weeping, not permitting herself to rest or be diverted from finding His Body. She was so caught up in this desire that even the sight of angels could not distract her from seeking the One Whom her heart desired. Instead, amidst her anguish and pain, she turned to someone she believed to be the gardener and begged him to help her.
And when He pronounced her name, she recognized him as Jesus. Immediately, her sorrow turned to joy, her pain to delight, her grief to jubilation ~ and she cast herself at His Feet. At that moment, with her cheeks still wet with tears, did she remember the last time she wept at His Feet? Did she recall that banquet in which she humbly walked through the crowd that scorned her to approach Jesus ~ at which point she paid Him homage, bathed His Feet with her tears and wiped them dry with her hair?
Did she remember that last gathering, after Lazarus was raised from the dead, when she poured a vase of fragrant oil over Jesus, anointing Him for His burial? She withheld nothing from this act of love and devotion, emptying the entire vase of its precious contents. That beautiful gesture symbolized her own self-donation: in her repentance and conversion, she emptied herself completely for love of Him. And now, Jesus rewards her persistence and faithfulness, calling her tenderly and shining His Face upon her.
The Risen Jesus calls us by name, as well, to give us joy and consolation in our lives. He calls us in the situations presented to us, in the people He places on our paths, and, of course, in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. And He calls us to be like St. Mary Magdalene: willingly emptying ourselves for love of Him so that He can fill us with Himself. Speaking to Sr. Benigna Consolata, one of the mystics of our Order (1885-1916), Jesus said, “The measure of thy mortification will be the measure of thy capacity for receiving graces. … When I find a heart that receives My graces, I inundate her with them. My Benigna, with mortification thou whilt give me empty vases, which I will fill with oil; the more thou wilt give me, the more I will fill them.”
He is truly alive ~ and His Resurrected Life is not merely a philosophy or set of teachings about how to live. It is a Life that enlightens, that heals, that transforms us. Let us, like St. Mary Magdalene, persist in seeking our Lord despite any difficulties or setbacks. Let us work at becoming empty vases that Jesus can fill with His fragrant oil of grace, of joy, of adoration. And let us visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament with love-filled hearts and praise on our lips.