A Prayer for the Day
In the darkness before dawn, Mary Magdalene hastens to the tomb. She cannot remain alone; she cannot hold back her longing to be near her beloved; she cannot wait for the dawn. Mary is a model for all of us who must rouse our love in the sleepy hours of the night, when we feel cold, alone, and perhaps abandoned by God, who seems to have failed us and all our dreams. She leads us by the hand, urging us to rouse our love and seek for God when he seems to have died and left us behind.
This Gospel narrative of the resurrection is full of love’s running haste. Mary runs to Peter and John, fearing that after Jesus’ death she may have lost his body also, the last remaining physical connection to him. Peter and John run to the tomb….
Mary, Peter, and John teach us to run in hope, in love, and in belief. We need to run first, even in the dark, to search for the Lord, to commit our hearts to love, and then we will witness the Living Christ in our midst. The resurrection means that Jesus lives—here, now, and forever—and will take us to live as his brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the Father, for all eternity.
Lord, my Love, in the darkest days of my life may I seek you in haste. May my heart thrill at the empty tombs in my life where I discover the power of your strength and behold the weight of your glory. O Risen One, may I know you alive in my life, in the world, in the Church, in the Eucharist and at the right hand of the Father. Amen.