Our RCIA director, Juno Mulder Bishop, asked me the other day during RCIA to speak briefly about my Patron Saint and sometimes I’m great at thinking on my feet, but the only thing that came to mind was her great faith in Christ. After class, the Spirit seemed to tell me I needed to go deeper, as I had forgotten some more profound reasons. I think the a Homily by Pope Saint Gregory the Great spoke eloquently about her.
“When Mary Magdalen came to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body, she thought it had been taken away and so informed the disciples. After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text then says: ‘The disciples went back home,’ and it adds: “but Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb.’ We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ, for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found, and while she sought she wept. Burning with the fire of love, she longed for him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him. For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth tell us: ‘Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved.’”
So here is my answer. Even now, there are days when I feel as though I can’t find the One I seek, and that He has been taken away. Sometimes I feel alone even and in the midst of my loves ones, friends, and family. Like her, I weep as I continue to seek Him. I usually find that He wasn’t taken away, but that I lost sight of Him. Mary reminds me that no matter how long it takes, I must persevere, because He may not be where I thought He should be, but nevertheless, He remains. He lives, so that I may live. One day I will see Him face to face, and I will no longer weep, but rejoice!
One Voice for Jesus Ministries 