John 20:1-2, 11-18
On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him."
Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" She thought it was the gardener and said to him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni," which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going 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 then reported what he told her.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for Maggie's Place, that God may continue to bless their ministry.
Today is the Memorial of St. Mary Magdalene.
I am one of those strange people who likes silence so that I can meditate and look at my own life. Often times, I meditate too much.
Anyway, a recent meditation on my own life that I've been dealing with is the thought of me holding onto things. It happens in the everyday when someone is rude to me in the store. It happens in the long term, when people aren't genuine with you or when someone lies to you.
Scripture tells us that Mary Magdalene had many sins and that these many sins were forgiven by Christ. It was in receiving Christ's forgiveness that she was able to let go of the things that she was holding onto.
Forgiveness has been a big thing that I have been dealing with in my own life, both in forgiving others and forgiving myself. When I see the life of St. Mary Magdalene, it is a great testimony of how great God is in dealing with our own weakness. The more we can bring to Christ to forgive, the more His grace can fill us up.
Brothers and sisters, I want Christ to fill me up, and in that desire, I ask for your prayers for me so that I may be better at letting things go. For each of you, I'll pray for the same, for we all need to be filled with His grace, and we all need to let go so that we can proclaim that Christ has indeed been raised from the dead that He ascended into heaven. Through Him, may we one day be with Him. Take care and God Bless.
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