Go to my brothers and sisters (Jackie Bacon)

    Mary of Magdala, follower of Jesus… Mary, whose life was changed by Jesus… Mary, who was saved by Jesus… Mary had witnessed her Lord, her friend, ridiculed, beaten, whipped, and then, as she stood at the foot of the cross, she saw Jesus crucified. And Mary knows: she is so very helpless. She can do nothing. 

    It is little wonder that Mary is called to the tomb of her best friend. Rising early, eager to be with the crucified Jesus, Mary is the first to see the stone of the sepulchre has been moved. Mary runs back, telling Peter and the other disciples what she saw. Peter and the other disciple race to the tomb, finding indeed that Mary is correct: the tomb is open and Jesus is not there. 

    Quickly, the two disciples retreat from the tomb, trying to make sense of this open, empty tomb. Mary, still driven by her love for Jesus, returns to the tomb a second time, desperate for understanding. This first appearance of the resurrected Jesus might have included his Mother Mary, or Peter, the head of the disciples, or the Beloved Disciple. But no: this first sighting of the resurrected Christ is the honor given to Mary of Magdala, Mary, who has lived a life of sorrow and of loss, a woman who recently (because of the presence of Jesus in her life) knows of beauty and knows the joy of life. She is changed – hers is a life reclaimed, because of Jesus. 

    At the tomb, Mary sees the risen Christ, and Jesus speaks to Mary, calling her by name. He says, Stop holding onto me. Go to my brothers and sisters. And what does Mary do? Having longed to see the body of her Lord, to minister to him, what does she do? Mary does what is asked of her, and races to tell the other disciples what she has seen: Jesus, risen! Mary becomes the apostle, the messenger, to the other apostles. 

    We, like Mary of Magdala, are asked to go and tell our brothers and our sisters. Go, make a difference! We are the hands of Christ, reaching out to those in need, gentle, focusing hands, hands that will be of help to others, asking, what do you need? Do you need to be heard? Do you need to be hugged? Do you need to be helped? We are the face of God for all to see. Go… 

    Go, make a difference in our world, because the world needs you. 

--Jackie Bacon,
OLMC Communion Service,
 April 2, 2024 

Image source: https://cbn.com/article/salvation/why-jesus-chose-mary-magdalene-proclaim-his-resurrection

Can we imagine? (OLMC Reflection)

Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

John 20: 16

    Consider Mary Magdalene as that most remarkable day breaks. She has gone to the tomb early in the morning, has called the disciples – and they have come and gone, yet she remains there, weeping. And when Jesus asks her, Woman, why are you weeping? she mistakes him for the gardener. She doesn’t know him, at least not at first; he has to call her name for her to know – to recognize him. But then he says her name: Mary! 

    Can we imagine how beautiful the sound of our own name would be, when said by Jesus? 

    The Resurrection restores Jesus to Mary Magdalene, to us, to the world, so that we might be moved by the imagination of joyful companionship with Christ… so that we can and must imagine what it would mean to know him, to recognize his presence in our lives daily, in one other, in Eucharist… so that we can and must imagine what is would mean to be known by him, to know intimately the love he holds for us, its extravagance, its wonder, as reflected by the love he shared on the cross… 

And he walks with me, and he talks with me,
and he tells me I am his own…

 And the joy we share as we tarry there,
none other has ever known… 

    For God did so love the world, so extravagantly, so wondrously, that he gave his only Son, gave him not to take him away again, but to make him present in our lives. Yes, God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus who was crucified for us. God has made him the bearer of God’s forgiveness, and the source of the gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

    And while we, like Mary, cannot hold onto him in his resurrected form, we can choose to live in him, to walk with him, to embrace his gift of the Spirit, allowing our soul to wait for the Lord, allowing our soul to open to his presence, allowing our soul to know the joy that comes of knowing the Lord, and being known by him. 

    Happy Easter! 

--Suzanne,
OLMC Reflection,
March 29, 2016

Image source: Bruce Wolfe, Jesus with Mary Magdalene (detail), Mission Santa Barbara, https://smecsundaymorningforum.org/tag/bruce-wolfe/

Christ is Risen! (Fr. Gerhard Lohfink / Fr. Ron Rolheiser)

The experience of the Risen One
must have been shocking,
deeply moving, and all-shattering.

 --Fr. Gerhard Lohfink,
Jesus of Nazareth

      Christ is risen, though we might not see him! The miraculous doesn’t force itself on us. It’s there, there to be seen, but whether we see or not, and what precisely we do see, depends mainly upon what’s going on inside our own hearts. 

--Fr. Ron Rolheiser OMI 

Easter Blessings from
Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
Mill Valley!
May your heart be full!

Image source: Resurrection, Church of Lord Jesus the Good Shepherd, Krakow, Poland, https://www.themayor.eu/en/a/view/krakow-now-boasts-the-world-s-largest-stained-glass-window-12495
Quotation 1 source
Quotation 2 source 

Love triumphs! (Fr. Ron Rolheiser)

   Despite every appearance to the contrary at times, in the end, love does triumph over hatred. Peace does triumph over chaos. Forgiveness does triumph over bitterness. Hope does triumph over cynicism. Fidelity does triumph over despair. Virtue does triumph over sin. Conscience does triumph over callousness. Life does triumph over death, and good does triumph over evil, always. The resurrection, most forcibly, makes that point. In the end, God has the last word. 

--Fr. Ron Rolheiser OMI

He is Risen!

Love has triumphed!

Alleluia! 

Image source 1: La Rédemption, St. Mathieu-de-Flône, Amay, Belgium, https://www.facebook.com/agencewallonnedupatrimoine/posts/%EF%B8%8Fde-nouveaux-vitraux-pour-l%C3%A9glise-saint-matthieu-de-fl%C3%B4ne-amayau-printemps-2019-/1236792545159212/
Image source 2: Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mill Valley, Easter Vigil, April 2025, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1123838136448266&set=a.1116337687198311 Quotation source

I too often dwell among the dead (Fr. Louis Brisson / Fr. Michael Newman)

My children, for us Easter must be the passing
from natural life to supernatural life,
the passing from ourselves to God.

 --Fr. Louis Brisson 

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”
The angel said to the women at the tomb.
Lord, the angel says that to me too on this Easter.
For I too often dwell among the dead,
removing the scars on my hands and my feet
so that I might bleed again.
Revisiting past hurts,
Cherishing resentments.
Ashamed by my wounds.
Entombing myself in the past,
 walking dead in the present.
“He has been raised!”
The angel said to the women and to me.
Jesus, give me the grace this Easter to believe
that your Resurrection doesn’t depend on me being perfect;
that your Resurrection is not conditioned by my being right;
that your Resurrection isn’t a reward for right behavior;
but the guarantor that a new way is possible,
a new road is now open,
and a new and eternal destiny lies before me;
that your scarred hand is stretched out before me,
waiting and desiring to grasp my bleeding hand,
as you invite me in faith,
to take hold of you and never let you go,
to embrace my wounds and not run from them
and to experience your Easter gift of new and eternal life,
Resurrection now and forever,
For once we are born into this world,
we never truly die.
Jesus, help me remember that,
no matter what happens,
You will always rise.
And,
with your grace,
so will I.
Amen.
May God be Praised! 

--Fr. Michael Newman OSFS,

April 20, 2025 

Image source: https://www.religiousartdecor.com/jesus-is-laid-in-the-tomb/#iLightbox[gallery_image_1]/1
Source of quotations

Did they wonder? (Barbara Brown Taylor / Vaneetha Risner)

New life starts in the dark.
Whether it is a seed in the ground,
a baby in the womb, or Jesus in the tomb,
it starts in the dark.

--Barbara Brown Taylor,
Learning to Walk In the Dark

    Holy Saturday follows Good Friday. On the first Holy Saturday, the disciples all scattered, each to their own homes (John 16:31). It was the Sabbath for them, a day without work. Nothing to busy themselves with. Just silence and stillness. 

   I wonder if they pondered the events of the past week or talked about them together? Were they filled with regret, second guessing what they’d said, ashamed of what they did and didn’t do? Did they wonder what was true about what they once earnestly believed and were willing to give their lives for? 

--Vaneetha Risner 

Image source: Eugène Burnand, Saturday (1907-1908), https://artandfaithmatters.blogspot.com/2020/04/holy-saturday-waiting-art-lectionary.html
Quotation source 1
Quotation source 2

Genuine, no-holds-barred passion (Pope Francis / Sr. Melinda Adrienne Pellerin)

It was a heavy Cross,
like night experienced by abandoned people,
heavy like the death of loved ones,
heavy because it carries all the ugliness of evil.
However, the Cross is also glorious
like the dawn after a long night,
for it represents all the love of God,
which is greater than our iniquities and our betrayals. 

 –Pope Francis 

    What is the cost of true love? A question asked on this Good Friday. What is genuine, no-holds-barred passion? Authentic love holds relationships together, love binds those relationships up for the long haul; it is eternal. Love that will cost everything is The Passion of the Cross. 

    Jesus, our hope, our redeemer stood speechless; sometimes, love has no words in the midst of infirmities and suffering, love endures. Love withstands chastisement, it pardons, it forgives. Love embraces the light of truth and often requires sacrifices. The Passion of Jesus reminds us that true, enduring, everlasting love will cost everything! On this Good Friday, Jesus gives everything. 

    Good Friday reminds us again to bear witness and to ask: Were we there? We place ourselves into the experience: The arrest, the trial, the conviction, and the Crucifixion of Jesus. “Were You There when they crucified my Lord? Tremble! Tremble! Tremble!" 

   Love is a gift, love withstands the pain of death. At the foot of the Cross, in the presence of loved ones, in the thirst of the moment, love’s power transcends the blood, the sadness, and the piercing pain of rejection. Sacrificial love transforms. And when it is finished, love prevails. We remember, and we tremble because we have been saved. Transformative love costs everything to save us! 

 --Sr. Melinda Adrienne Pellerin, SSJ 

Image source: Gustav Klimt, Country Garden with Crucifix (1911), https://www.gustav-klimt.com/Country-Garden-with-Crucifix.jsp
Quotation source 1
Quotation source 2