July 22, 2010: Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

 Click to listen to the audio homily
Can you think of a disciple mentioned in the Gospel who follows Jesus after being saved from a mob who was ready to kill the person because of their sin; a disciple who was so grateful for the forgiveness of her sin that out of love, goes out and giving her all, buys very expensive oil to anoint the feet of Jesus and to bathes his feet with her tears and her hair; a disciple who was so grateful and full of love of Jesus that no fear shook her at the threat of being put in jail like her Teacher; a disciple who was so grateful that she was one of the only few who stayed with Jesus at the Cross when the rest fled for the fear for their lives; a disciple who became the 'apostle to the apostles' when Jesus appeared to her at the empty tomb, witnessing to the rest of the apostles that Jesus has risen? That's St. Mary Magdalene.

Last year, St. Mary Magdalene's relic of her bone came to Mandeville, Louisiana, and thousands flocked to see her relic. What draws us to Mary Magdalene? What happened to Mary Magdalene--how she experienced healing and forgiveness from her sins, how she turned her life around after her encounter with Jesus, and how she stayed faithful to Him through the uncertain and dark time--speak to our own experience with Jesus. I can tell you I encounter many Mary Magdalenes in confessional. They come in weighed down with the guilt and shame of their sins and ready for God to condemn them. Yet instead of stones thrown at them, they encounter Jesus who raises them from the dirt ground and says, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?   ... neither do I condemn you, Go now and leave your life of sin."

What can make us a faithful disciple like Mary Magdalen? It is always to be grateful for what Jesus has done in our lives. As many opportunities I am given on the pulpit, in giving talks, and talking privately, I tell people about what Jesus has done for me--how I led a life of a prodigal son, living a life of sin, and how Jesus welcomed me back with compassion, and even appointed me as his disciple to tell about God's love for all. As Our Lord has told about Mary Magdalene, "She loves much because she was forgiven much." When we live daily with that attitude of humility--that Jesus is so compassionate that he welcomes us despite our unworthiness--we will kneel at the feet of Jesus like Mary Magdalene, to bathe his feet with tears of gratefulness and love.