Catholic homily for Saturday within the Octave of Easter
Theme: JESUS FIRST APPEARED UNTO MARY MAGDALENE….. “Mary of Magdala went and reported the news to his followers, but they would not believe”
By: Fr. Raimondo M. SORGIA Mannai OP
Homily for Saturday April 10 2021
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».
Fr. Raimondo M. SORGIA Mannai OP
(San Domenico di Fiesole, Florencia, Italy)