Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 7-22-03, Memorial, St. Mary Magdalene

Reading I
Ex 14:21—15:1

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and the LORD swept the sea
with a strong east wind throughout the night
and so turned it into dry land.
When the water was thus divided,
the children of Israel marched into the midst of the sea on dry land,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.

The Egyptians followed in pursuit;
all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and charioteers went after them
right into the midst of the sea.
In the night watch just before dawn
the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud
upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic;
and he so clogged their chariot wheels
that they could hardly drive.
With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel,
because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians.

Then the LORD told Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea,
that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians,
upon their chariots and their charioteers."
So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth.
The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea,
when the LORD hurled them into its midst.
As the water flowed back,
it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh's whole army
that had followed the children of Israel into the sea.
Not a single one of them escaped.
But the children of Israel had marched on dry land
through the midst of the sea,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day
from the power of the Egyptians.
When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore
and beheld the great power that the LORD
had shown against the Egyptians,
they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses.

Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD:

I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;
horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

Responsorial Psalm
Exodus 15:8-9, 10 and 12, 17

R (1b) Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
At the breath of your anger the waters piled up,
the flowing waters stood like a mound,
the flood waters congealed in the midst of the sea.
The enemy boasted, "I will pursue and overtake them;
I will divide the spoils and have my fill of them;
I will draw my sword; my hand shall despoil them!"
R Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
When your wind blew, the sea covered them;
like lead they sank in the mighty waters.
When you stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them!
R Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
And you brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance–
the place where you made your seat, O LORD,
the sanctuary, O LORD, which your hands established.
R Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

Gospel
Jn 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.

From: John 20:1-2, 11-18

The Empty Tomb

[1] Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb
early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken
away from the tomb. [2] So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the
other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have
taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid
Him."

The Appearance To Mary Magdalene

[11] But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she
stooped to look into the tomb; [12] and she saw two angels in white,
sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at
the feet. [13] They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She
said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know
where they have laid Him." [14] Saying this, she turned around and saw
Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. [15] Jesus
said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?"
Supposing Him to be gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have
carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him
away." [16] Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to Him in
Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). [17] Jesus said to her, "Do
not hold Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My
brethren and say to them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father,
to My God and your God." [18] Mary Magdalene went and said to the
disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that He had said
these things to her.

Commentary:

1-2. All four Gospels report the first testimonies of the holy women
and the disciples regarding Christ's glorious resurrection, beginning
with the fact of the empty tomb (cf. Matthew 28:1-15; Mark 16:1ff; Luke
24:1-12) and then telling of the various appearances of the risen
Jesus.

Mary Magdalene was one of the women who provided for our Lord during
His journeys (Luke 8:1-3); along with the Virgin Mary she bravely
stayed with Him right up to His final moments (John 19:25), and she saw
where His body was laid (Luke 23:55). Now, after the obligatory
Sabbath rest, she goes to visit the tomb. The Gospel points out that
she went "early, when it was still dark": her love and veneration led
her to go without delay, to be with our Lord's body.

11-18. Mary's affection and sensitivity lead her to be concerned about
what has become of the dead body of Jesus. This woman out of whom
seven demons were cast (cf. Luke 8:2) stayed faithful during His
passion and even now her love is still ardent: our Lord had freed her
from the Evil One and she responded to that grace humbly and
generously.

After consoling Mary Magdalene, Jesus gives her a message for the
Apostles, whom He tenderly calls His "brethren". This message implies
that He and they have the same Father, though each in an essentially
different way: "I am ascending to My Father"--My own Father by
nature--"and to your Father"--for He is your Father through the
adoption I have won for you and by My death. Jesus, the Good Shepherd,
shows His great mercy and understanding by gathering together all His
disciples who had abandoned Him during His passion and were now in
hiding for fear of the Jews (John 20:19).

Mary Magdalene's perseverance teaches us that anyone who sincerely
keeps searching for Jesus Christ will eventually find Him. Jesus'
gesture in calling His disciples His "brethren" despite their having
run away should fill us with love in the midst of our own
infidelities.

15. From Jesus' dialogue with Mary Magdalene, we can see the frame of
mind all His disciples must have been in: they were not expecting the
resurrection.

17. "Do not hold Me": the use of the negative imperative in the Greek,
reflected in the New Vulgate ("noli me tenere") indicates that our Lord
is telling Mary to release her hold of Him, to let Him go, since she
will have another chance to see Him before His ascension into Heaven.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

FEAST OF THE DAY

The information available concerning St. Mary Magdalene comes
from either Scripture or the popular legends that grew concerning her
life. Except for the mother of Jesus, there are few women in the Bible
as honored as Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene is mentioned in
each of the four Gospels and is mentioned specifically in three of the
Passion narratives. In the Gospel of Mark, Mary is one of the first
people that Jesus appears to on the morning of the Resurrection and
he sends her to the Apostles to proclaim his Resurrection. This
mission given to her by the Lord gained her the title "apostle to the
Apostles", coined by ninth century theologians.

In several gospels, Mary is mentioned as the woman who has seven
demons cast out of her by the Lord and is also mentioned as one of
the people supporting Jesus and the Apostles with her own property
and money. By the twelfth century, devotion to St. Mary Magdalene
was widespread in the western Church. She is patroness of the
Order of preachers.

St. Mary is often confused with the sinful woman in the Gospel of
Luke who washed Jesus' feet with her hair but that was not she.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

But Mary of Magdala stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she
wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angles 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 do not 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 of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, "I have
seen the Lord," and what he told her. -Jn 20:11-18

TODAY IN HISTORY

259 Pope St. Dionysius begins his reign
1099 Godfrey of Boullion elected first Christian ruler of Jerusalem
1515 Birth of St. Philip Neri

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Catechesis is a term describing the effort of the Church to form
people as disciples of Christ. Most catechetical efforts focus on
teaching the doctrine of the Faith and spiritual formation through the
practice of the Faith.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all those trying to discern vocation to priesthood or
religious life.

The Word Among Us

Tuesday, July 22, 2003

Meditation
John 20:1-2,11-18

St. Mary Magdalene

Mary. (John 20:16)

When God speaks, the heavens and the earth are shaken. What fear must have gripped the Israelites who came with Moses to a mountain surrounded by thick clouds and blazing fire (Exodus 19:18)! Yet that is where he revealed his covenant. What fear, too, must have gripped the heart of Mary Magdalene when she discovered the empty tomb on Easter Sunday (John 20:1). But she was about to encounter the risen Lord, the one who would bring her into a new and everlasting covenant.

Take a moment to think about the new covenant we have received in Jesus’ blood. The whole of creation belongs to God, yet he chose Israel, and later his church, to be set apart as a shining testimony to his glory. He came to Israel in a thick, white cloud and with the blaring of trumpets. He spoke to them through Moses, his mediator. He comes to us in the Eucharist and speaks directly to our hearts by his Spirit. As intimately as Mary Magdalene encountered her risen Lord, so too can we every time we come to him in prayer.

Gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Israelites could not bear to hear the voice of the Lord (Hebrews 12:19). It was too magnificent and terrifying for them to bear. When Jesus spoke Mary’s name, her whole life was transformed. Grief gave way to joy and despair to hope. All she ever wanted was to hear the voice of the Lord speaking directly to her.

This is the great privilege of our lives as children of the new covenant. We have not come to darkness and gloom, but to the gentle Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God slain for our sins. In him we can touch the throne of God and be brought from death to life. Every single day, we can hear Jesus speak our name. Every single day, we can be raised up to the throne of God. May we never turn away from the voice of the Lord!

“Jesus, when you rose, ‘there was a great earthquake’ (Matthew 28:2) that shook not only the ground but the hearts of your disciples. And now, you have promised to shake creation again when you return in glory. Lord, I await your coming with great longing

One Bread, One Body

<< Tuesday, July 22, 2003 >>

St. Mary Magdalene

Song of Songs 3:1-4 or
2 Corinthians 5:14-17

Psalm 63

John 20:1-2, 11-18

View Readings

A FAMILY MATTER

“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned to Him and said [in Hebrew], ‘Rabbouni’ (meaning ‘Teacher’).” —John 20:16

Mary Magdalene called the risen Christ “Teacher.” This is only the beginning of our intimate, personal relationship with Jesus, for we can call Him “Brother” (see Mt 12:50; Rm 8:29; Heb 2:11). We have the awesome privilege to be in God’s family.

We need perspective to appreciate our family privilege. A little less than two millennia before Christ, God chose the Jewish nation as His people (see Dt 7:7). Jews alone were the chosen people of God. All the rest of the world could be only “Jewish wannabes.” These people were called “those who fear the Lord,” that is, Gentiles who tried to live Judaism as best they could. Zechariah prophesied: “In those days ten men of every nationality, speaking different tongues, shall take hold, yes, take hold of every Jew by the edge of his garment and say, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you’ ” (Zec 8:23). The Gideonites even lied so that they could be lifelong slaves of Jews (Jgs 9:3ff).

Before Jesus, the greatest possibility for a Gentile was to be a “Jewish wannabe” or a slave to the Jews. After Jesus, not only was the privilege of being in God’s chosen people opened to all, we were even called to be in God’s family, to be on a first-name basis with Jesus, to be as close to God as Mary Magdalene is. “This means that you are strangers and aliens no longer. No, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph 2:19).

Prayer: Father, I rejoice in my Trinitarian family life.

Promise: “The love of Christ impels us who have reached the conviction that since One died for all, all died.” —2 Cor 5:14

Praise: Jesus set St. Mary Magdalene free from “seven devils” (Lk 8:2). She used her freedom to love Jesus tenaciously for the rest of her life.

Mary Magdalene is one of my patron saints!

July 22, 2003

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

Gospel Reading

On the first day after the Sabbath, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark and she saw that the stone blocking the tomb had been moved away. She ran to Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved. And she said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have laid him."

Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she bent down to look inside; she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, and the other at the feet. They said, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She answered, "Because they have taken my Lord and I don't know where they have put him."

As she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognize him. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?" She thought it was the gardener and answered him, "Lord, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him."

Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him, "Rabboni"-which means, Master. Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me; you see I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them: I am ascending to my Father, who is your Father, to my God, who is your God."

So Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord, and this is what he said to me."

Reflection

Jesus often faulted the scribes and the Pharisees for failing to see in him, the greatest manifestation of God in the world. Mary Magdalene whose memorial is celebrated today, also failed to see Christ immediately when she encountered him in the garden on Easter Sunday. But unlike the Scribes and Pharisees, her failure to see him right away wasn't one motivated by disbelief. It was the fact that she had gotten so used to seeing him the way he used to be before his death and resurrection, that her eyes and her mind weren't ready for this new manifestation of him. When faced with terrible sorrow, while a Christian could sometimes find his faith tested beyond its limits, it's on the same love and care he felt God gave him during better times that he should focus on and remember. The sorrow and pain both come to pass, and in the end, like Mary Magdalene, he will find himself recognizing once again the gentle voice of Christ reminding him that everything will be alright.

From: Exodus 14:21-15:1

Crossing the Red Sea

[21] Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove the
sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the
waters were divided. [22] And the people of Israel went into the midst of
the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand
and on their left. [23] The Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into
the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
[24] And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud
looked down upon the host of the Egyptians, and discomfited the host of the
Egyptians, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily; and the
Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel; for the Lord fights for
them against the Egyptians."

[26] Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that
the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon
their horsemen." [27] So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and
the sea returned to its wonted flow when the morning appeared; and the
Egyptians fled into it, and the Lord routed the Egyptians in the midst of
the sea. [28] The waters return and covered the chariots and the horsemen
and all the hosts of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not so
much as one of them remained. [29] But the people of Israel walked on dry
ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand
and on their left.

[30] Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians; and
Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. [31] And Israel saw the
great work which the Lord did against the Egyptians, and the people feared
the Lord; and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Song of Victory

[1] Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song the Lord, saying, "I
will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his
rider he has thrown into the sea."

Commentary:

14:19-22. At the wonderful moment of the crossing of the sea, God, man and
the forces of nature play the leading role. In the person of the angel of
the Lord, God the person of the angel of the Lord, becomes more visible; he
directs operations; he plays a direct part. Moses' part consists in doing as
the Lord commands; he is his vicar. The sons of Israel have no active part;
they benefit from what happens. Even the forces of nature come into play:
the pillar of cloud which marked the route by day now blocks the Egyptians'
way; night, the symbol of evil become, as in the Passover, the time God's
visitation; the warm west wind, always feared for its harmful effects, now
proves a great help; and the waters of the sea, so often the symbol of the
abyss and of evil, allow the victorious passage of the sons of Israel.

The prophets see this event as an instance of the creative power of God (cf.
Is 43:1-3), and Christian writers comment along the same lines. Thus, Origen
will say: "See the goodness of God the Creator: if you submit to his will
and follow his Law, he will see to it that created things cooperate with
you, against their own nature if necessary" ("Homiliae In Exodum", 5,5).

The book of Wisdom turns the account of the crossing of the sea into a hymn
of praise to the Lord who delivered Israel (cf. Wis 19:6-9), and St Paul
sees the waters as a figure of baptismal water:
"All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea" (1 Cor 10:2).

14:31. The main effect the miraculous crossing of the sea had on the
Israelites was the faith it gave them in the power of God and in the
authority of Moses. This section of the account of the escape from Egypt
ends as it began--that is, showing that the people's faith (4:31) is now
strengthened. So, too, Christian faith is strengthened when we do what God
desires.: "Following Jesus on his way. You have understood what our Lord was
asking from you and you have decided to accompany him on his way. You trying
to walk in his footsteps, to clothe yourself in Christ's clothing, to be
Christ himself: well, your faith, your faith in the light our Lord is giving
you, must both operative and full of sacrifice" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends
of God", 198).

15:1-21. This victory anthem, along with that of Deborah (Judg 5), is one
the oldest hymns of Israel. It probably goes as far back as the 13th century
BC, long before the redactor of this be decided to include it as a colophon
to Exodus account. It is called the "Song of Miriam" (v. 21) because, as we
know from Ugarit poems of the period (13th-9th centuries BC) it was the
practice to put at the end (not the start) the reason why the poem was
written, the author's name and the poem's title (vv. 18-21). It is very
likely that this canticle was recited in the liturgy and that the entire
people said the response (vv, 1, 21) after each stanza was said or sung by
the choir.

It is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving which the three stages of the
deliverance of Israel are remembered--the prodigies of the Red Sea (vv.
4-10), the triumphal pilgrimage in the desert (vv. 4-16) and the taking
possession of the land of Canaan (vv. 17-18).

In this poetic re-creation of these events the divine attributes are
extolled one by one (might, military power, redemption, etc); they reflect
the theological implications of exodus, wilderness and land: it is God who
has done all these wondrous things; he has done them because he has chosen
the people to be his very own; he himself requires that they respond by
acknowledging him to be God, Lord of all, the only deliverer.

15:1-3. Victory over the Egyptians has revealed the glory arid might of God.
Strength, power, salvation can be taken as meaning the same thing, for the
sacred author does not regard the divine attributes as abstract qualities
but as particular actions: only God could truly save the people.

"The Lord is a man of war": this daring description indicates that this is a
very ancient poem. Some translations, possibly because they thought it might
be misunderstood, toned it down a little: the Samaritan Pentateuch has
"powerful in combat" and the Septuagint "he who breaks through battles". We
in our Spanish version coincide with the RSV and the New Vulgate, retaining
the blunt military imagery, which is very descriptive of the almighty power
of God: "He is the Lord of the Universe [...]. He is master of history,
governing hearts and events in keeping with his will" ("Catechism of the
Catholic Church", 269).

"The Lord is his name": literally, "his name is Yah", using an abbreviation
of Yahweh which may have been customary in more ancient times. It may well
be that there is an echo of this name in the "Alleluia" of the Psalms.

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