Gospel - John 20:11-18

Proclamation of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ according to John.
At that time:
Mary stood outside the tomb, crying.
As he cried, he leaned over and looked into the tomb.
And he saw two angels in white, sitting where the body
of Jesus had been laid, one at the head, and the
other at the feet.
The angels asked him:
'Woman, why are you crying? '
She replied to me:
They took my Lord and I don’t know where they put him.
Having said this, Mary turned around and saw
Jesus standing.
But I didn’t know it was Jesus.
Jesus asked him:
Woman, why are you crying?
Who are you looking for? '
Thinking he was the gardener, Maria said:
'Sir, if you took him, tell me where you put him,
and I’ll get him.
Then Jesus said, 'Mary! '
She turned and exclaimed in Hebrew: 'Rabuni'
(which means: Master).
Jesus said, 'Don’t hold me.
I haven’t gone up to the Father yet.
But go and tell my brethren, I am going up to my
Father and your Father,
My God and your God.
Then Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples,
'I have seen the Lord! '
And he told what Jesus had said to him.
Word of Salvation.

The moving scene of Mary of Magdala’s encounter
with Jesus highlights the change in the relationship
between the disciple and the Master, brought about
from the resurrection. The new condition of Jesus
required a new kind of relationship.
Mary expressed her affection for Jesus in the various
details of his behavior. The news of the disappearance
of the Lord’s body left her perplexed. With this, he lost
a sure sign of the presence of his dear friend,
even reduced to a corpse. Without it, he would not
have a precise place to address when he wished to
mourn the irreparable loss of his friend. Therefore,
even if everyone had gone away, she remained
alone, at the entrance of the tomb, crying.
Her dialogue with the angels occurred spontaneously,
without her realizing that she was talking
to celestial beings.
All he cared about was where they put "my Lord".
Likewise the dialogue with the Risen One took place.
At first, Maria thought she was a gardener.
Demonstrating an admirable strength of spirit,
she showed herself willing to go alone to fetch the
Master’s corpse to put it back in the tomb.
As soon as she recognized the Master’s voice, she tried
to hold on to it. But he urged her to change her
behaviour. From now on, the sign of friendship that
the Lord wanted from her was to become a missionary
of the resurrection. It’s about time I
could touch him physically.