Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles

St. John’s Gospel tells us that it is Mary Magdalene who is the first to witness to the empty tomb and the first person to whom Jesus appears after he is risen. She does not recognize him in the glorified body. When he calls her by name, she turns and comprehends who she is seeing. Though the narrative does not indicate that she has touched him, Jesus tells her, “Stop holding onto me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father!” He instructs her further to tell his disciples where he has gone, “to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Mary fulfills this mission, telling the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” It is for this reason that she has traditionally been called the Apostle to the Apostles and that we celebrate today as a feast.

Paul may not be directly alluding to the moment in his Letter to the Corinthians, but he understands the importance of knowing the risen Christ, not just the historical Jesus. He writes, “Even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. The old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.” Even for those who knew Christ in the flesh, it is better to know him as he is now, risen. If Jesus had not died and been raised, we could not be raised. If Jesus had not ascended, we could not be children of God.

Paul’s words and the story of Mary Magdalene are a message: Christ calls us by name, whether or not we hear him or recognize him. We are called to share in the joy of the resurrection and in Christ’s mission to spread the Good News to the ends of the earth. This is the mission with which Jesus entrusted to the church, and each one of us: to know, love, and serve him. As he makes himself present to us in this Eucharist, may he open our ears to hear his call and our hearts to follow his will.