John 20: 11-18
Mary Magdalene stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the 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.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending 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 she told them that he had said these things to her.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Jesus Calls Us by Name
Christ. Is. Risen.
I remember as a kid, I was always confused at Easter when people said that Jesus is risen instead of Jesus has risen. It’s Easter Tuesday; doesn’t that mean he rose two days ago?
This Gospel invites us to see the resurrection as something everlasting. Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and calls her by name. Just like in this first appearance to Mary, a beloved friend, this is how Jesus appears to us in every moment of our lives. Jesus is continually calling us by name to follow him more deeply. Jesus knows us personally, seeks us out, and invites us to share in that love and joy with him.
How might we, as beloved children of God, respond to this act of love by the risen Christ? Let us pray today that we may feel the joy of being called by name and share that joy with others.
—Brian Kemper, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province studying philosophy at Fordham University.
Prayer
Take Lord, and receive
All my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will,
All that I have and call my own.
You have given it all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me nothing more than your love and grace,
For that is enough for me.
Amen.
—Suscipe prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Pray with the Pope
The Holy Father’s Monthly Prayer Intentions Brought to you by Apostleship of Prayer the first Friday of each month.