A passage from the Gospel of John is read, where Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene. He calls her by name, showing a personal encounter between God and man.
“Alleluia, He is truly risen! Brothers and sisters, welcome to our station three via Lucy. Jesus manifested Himself to Mary Magdalene, and we hear a passage from the Gospel of John. Jesus said to Mary Magdalene, “Mary,” she turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Raboni,” which means teacher. Jesus said to her, “Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'”
It is Jesus Christ who initiates this meeting. Mary Magdalene came to the tomb crying and longing for Jesus Christ, and later on, she meets the Gardener who was Jesus, although she was not aware of that until Jesus called her by name. When Mary Magdalene heard her name being pronounced by Jesus Christ, it was a word of God that penetrated to the depths of her soul.
Let me give you this example. If you were to be at the same Peter Square in Rome, and there would be a Ubi at Orbee message from the Holy Father or the Angelus, and there are thousands of people, and at a certain moment, he says out loud your name and actually turns his head towards where you’re standing and starts giving a message to you, I think all of us would be taken aback in disbelief. How come the Pope, in a public audience of thousands of people, names me and now speaks directly to me? Think about it.
Jesus Christ pronounces the name of Mary, and at that moment, she passed from death to life, from her sorrow to joy. She turned, and He allowed her to make this turn, finding out the Risen one, encountering Christ, who is the same and yet different. This word, her name pronounced by Jesus, showed at the same time He knows her profoundly, He knows her soul. It is a personal encounter between God and man, and this encounter brings a person back from spiritual death to happiness.
When we hear Jesus Christ calling her by name, He’s also eager to call us by name. But as Mary Magdalene is overjoyed and clings to the Lord, He tells her, “Noli me tangere” in Latin, meaning “don’t touch me, don’t hold me back.” How to explain that before, He would encounter the women who were actually embracing His feet, and He didn’t say anything, and right here, He says, “Don’t touch me.” But He sends her out into a mission.
Jesus’s appearance to Mary is different. Every single person has a unique encounter with the Lord prepared for him or for her. For Mary Magdalene, it was this. We may see a moment that brought her from the death of her soul to life with Christ’s Resurrection, but she cannot remain on this level. Everybody has different times and contexts when Jesus calls us, when He walks into our lives, when He calls us, and we are encountering Him. It can be during the Eucharistic celebration, in personal adoration, reading the scriptures, listening to the catechesis, going through the retreat, and many other ways. Recently, I heard the testimony of a man who said, “Jesus found me on the train among other people.” Yes, He can find His own way to talk to us. Therefore, we cannot compare ourselves with others, and our encounter with Jesus Christ should be unique.”
