Cylindrical our Faith

Have you ever misunderstood something, even when your intentions were good? We all experience moments when we act with love but still get things wrong. Even our good actions are rarely perfect. Well, that’s the story of my own life!

 

On that first Easter morning, before the sun rose, Mary Magdalene offers an example of this. She got some things right—her sincere love and devotion to Jesus was there, but she did not yet understand the full reality of what she witnessed. Though the other Gospels mention other women at the tomb,  St. John highlights Mary.

 

When Mary Magdalene saw the stone rolled away, her love compelled her to act immediately. St. John Chrysostom says she “ran to the disciples with all the speed of love.” Her eagerness drove her to tell Simon Peter and John what she had seen, showing us how love urges us to seek God without delay.

 

Despite her deep love of Jesus, Mary misunderstood the meaning of the empty tomb. Her emotional response—“They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him”—shows us of her struggle to grasp the mystery unfolding before her. Like many of us, she was driven by emotion rather than a deeper trust in God.

 

Jesus was certainly not displeased with her misunderstanding, as Scripture identifies her in John 20 as the first to whom He appeared.

 

When she encountered the risen Christ, she initially mistook Him for the gardener, this shows us that her understanding of the Resurrection was still unfolding.

 

Despite that, Jesus met her where she was and guided her toward deeper faith. Try to remember your first steps to deeper faith. This helps us to remember that our emotions, though good, must be tested by faith, allowing love to mature into greater trust and understanding.

 

Think about Mary Magdalene’s experience on Easter morning. Like her, we are called to seek our Lord with fervour, even when our understanding is incomplete. And like her, we can trust that Jesus will meet us where we are, gently leading us into deeper faith.

 

As we celebrate the Resurrection, pray that your love, with all its emotions, may be more fully purified by grace, so that you, too, will encounter Christ with renewed understanding and joy.

Every Blessing

Father Paul