"Mary of Magdala went and reported the news to his followers..." - Easter Saturday
Liturgic day: Easter Saturday (Octave of Easter)
Gospel text (Mc 16,9-15): After Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary of Magdala from whom He had driven out seven demons. She went and reported the news to his followers, who were now mourning and weeping. But when they heard that He lived and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. After this He showed himself in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. These men too went back and told the others, but they did not believe them. Later Jesus showed himself to the Eleven while they were at table. He reproached them for their unbelief and stubbornness in refusing to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. Then he told them, "Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation".
Comment: Fr. Raimondo M. SORGIA Mannai OP (San Domenico di Fiesole, Florencia, Italy)
"Mary of Magdala went and reported the news to his followers, but they would not believe"
Today, the Gospel offers us the opportunity to meditate upon some aspects which each one of us has experience of: we are certain of our love for Jesus, and we consider him the best of our friends; nevertheless, who, among us, could be sure of having never betrayed him? Let us recall whether we have never ever traded him for some gaudy illusion of ours? In the second place, though we are often tempted to overrate ourselves as Christians, the testimony of our own conscience forces us nonetheless to remain silent and humiliate ourselves, imitating the publican who, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying "God have mercy on me a sinner" (Lk 18:13).
This said, we should not be surprised to see the disciples' behavior. They have personally known Jesus, they have witnessed his mind and heart capacities, the unmatched qualities of his preaching. However, when Jesus Christ had already risen, one of the women of the group - Mary of Magdala - "went and reported the news to his followers, who were now mourning and weeping" (Mk 16:10) and, instead of stopping their tear shedding and starting to dance in joy, they do not believe her. This is the evidence that the earth is the center of our gravity.
The disciples had before them the hitherto unheard of announcement of the Resurrection, and yet, they chose to keep on lamenting themselves in deep sorrow. We have sinned, yes! We have betrayed him, yes! We have celebrated some kind of pagan funeral rite, yes! From now on, it will never be again: after having beaten our chest, let us throw ourselves to his feet, our head well lifted unto heaven and... carry on!, let us get going behind him, keeping his pace. French writer Gustave Flaubert has wisely said: "I think that if we kept on looking at the sky without stopping we should end up by developing wings". As of today and forever more, man who was submerged in sin, ignorance or in half-heartedness, must know that, thanks to the Resurrection of Christ, "he finds himself immersed in bright daylight".
Source: www.evangeli.net
