Liturgical Readings for : Monday, 22nd July, 2024
07-22-St Mary Magdalene- Feast
FIRST READING
A reading from the book: Song of Songs 3:1-4
I found him whom my heart loves.
The bride said this:
On my bed, at night, I sought him whom my heart loves.
I sought but did not find him.
So I will rise and go through the City; in the streets and the squares
I will seek him whom my heart loves.
I sought but did not find him.
The watchmen came upon me on their rounds in the City:
‘Have you seen him whom my heart loves?’
Scarcely had I passed them than I found him whom my heart loves.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
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Alternative First Reading
First Reading
A reading from the Second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 5:14-17
Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know him now.
Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead;
and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves,
but for him who died and was raised to life for them.
From now onwards, therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh. Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know him now. And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
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Responsorial Psalm: Ps 62
Response For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.
1. O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water. Response
2. So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise. Response
3. So I will bless you all my life, in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet, my mouth shall praise you with joy. Response
4. For you have been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.
My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast. Response
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Tell us, Mary: say what thou didst see upon the way.
The tomb the living did enclose; I saw Christ’s glory as he rose
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to John 20:1-2. 11-18 Glory to you, O Lord
Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking?
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved.
‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’
Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said,
‘Woman, why are you weeping?’
‘ They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’
As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said,
‘Woman why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said,
‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’
Jesus said, ‘Mary!’
She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ — which means Master.
Jesus said to her,
‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them:
I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’
So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Reflection Friday, 07-22 Saint Mary Magdalene John 20:1-2, 11-18
Saint Paul has a way of expressing very succinctly what is at the core of our faith. We find one such expression in today’s alternative first reading where he declares that ‘Christ died for all’, so that those who live might ‘live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them’.
In today’s gospel reading, Mary Magdalen is only aware that Jesus has died; she does not yet know that he has been raised to life. Not only has Jesus been cruelly put to death, she assumes from the empty tomb that his body has been stolen. Immersed in grief, she is not yet capable of living for him who died and was raised to life. It was only when the risen Lord appeared to her that she could begin to live for him again, as she had done before he died. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, however, Mary failed to recognise Jesus when she first saw him and entered into conversation with him. Their moment of recognition was when the stranger broke bread at their table.
Mary’s moment of recognition was when the stranger spoke her name, like the good shepherd who knows his own by name. She was now ready to live for Jesus crucified and risen. She would become a ‘new creation’, in the words of our first reading. Commissioned by the risen Lord, she became his messenger to the other disciples, declaring to them that she had seen the Lord. The risen Lord, our good shepherd, continues to call us by name. Having died and rose from the dead for us, he calls on us to live not for ourselves but for him, by witnessing to our faith in him as risen Lord. Living for the Lord gives value to all that we say and do. Like Mary Magdalene, we become a new creation.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
