Holy Love!

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

Song 3:1-4b; Jn 20: 1-2, 11-18

Today our Mother Church celebrates the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the Apostle to the Apostles. 

Reading today’s Gospel, we understand that the heart of Mary Magdalene was consumed by holy love in a way that her faith journey becomes an example for us to follow.

We may reflect on Mary Magdalene’s holy love for the Lord from three perspectives. 

1. The Holy Love That Stayed at the Empty Tomb: Mary Magdalene was characterized by a unique love for the Lord that did not end at the cross. Nor did it disappear in disappointment when she was confronted with an empty tomb. Even after Jesus’ burial, she ‘came back to the tomb early in the morning.’ The empty tomb drove everyone away but not Mary Magdalene. When ‘the disciples went back to where they were staying,’ including Simon Peter and the beloved disciple, she was still searching for the Lord. Probably, she was telling herself, ‘I should have stayed by the tomb last night.’ The holy love of Mary Magdalene never left the tomb in disappointment but waited outside with hope. 

2. The Holy Love That Cried Outside the Tomb: One striking feature from today’s Gospel is the fact that Mary Magdalene speaks thrice of the missing Lord. At first, she tells Peter and the beloved disciple, ‘They have taken the Lord from the tomb.’ Then she tells the two angels, ‘They have taken my Lord.’ Finally, she tells Jesus himself, mistaking him to be the gardener, ‘Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.’ In all these instances, she was still searching for the Lord, though with tears and grief. And we further notice that in the process, she personalizes her love for the Lord so that she moves from saying ‘the Lord’ to ‘My Lord.’ Her cry, her possessive language, and her longing for the Lord – all become a testament to her holy love for the Lord. 

3. The Holy Love That Saw the Lord: If we carefully read today’s Gospel, we find Mary Magdalene beginning her sorrowful announcement to the disciples, ‘They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.’ However, that is not the end of the story for her because at the end she happily recounts to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord.’ The journey of holy love never returned empty-handed. Though she passed through moments of tears, confusion, and waiting, she eventually encountered the Risen Lord. In holy love, she sought the Lord and saw him in the end. Her life becomes a loud witness to the fact that Christian spirituality is not about finding answers but about seeking a Person – the Lord Himself.

Mary Magdalene’s holy love sought the Lord earnestly. We may say that either she wanted the Lord to be with her or she wanted to be with the Lord, cherishing his presence forever because she understood a deep spiritual lesson: ‘Without the Lord, we will not be well.’

Let us pray that we may imitate Mary Magdalene’s holy love to forever cherish the Lord’s presence.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar