In the Fourth Week of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola the person engaging the exercises is challenged to contemplate the reality and meaning of the Resurrection of Jesus. An Apostle of Jesus Christ is one who witnesses to the Resurrection – first by his or her lifestyle and then by proclamation of word or life to others; the word literally means “a witness to the resurrection.”

We know of Mary Magdalene’s witness to the Apostles from the various Gospel passages, especially the Gospel of John. We can imagine the amount of apostolic work she undertook because she is referred to in the writings of the early Fathers of the Church as the Apostle to the Apostles – the same title that Pope Francis applied to her as a privileged role in the Christian mission of the early Church. Scholars are continuing to unearth the indications of evangelization that are attributed to her and largely it is the witness of great love both received and given that is the foundation for Apostolic work. That she was healed and forgiven parallels the healing and forgiveness that Peter received and the Matthew the tax collector must have known.

The Gospel today tells of Mary’s recognition of Jesus through her tear-filled eyes as she hears her name announced by the Risen Lord and sees his living gaze of great love. This is precisely what St. Ignatius is asking a retreatant to prayer for in the fourth week because when we experience such great love it changes us. It changes the conditions of our intellectual perception of our humanity, our sinfulness and our righteousness; it changes the context and degree of affective receptivity; and most importantly it changes the coordination of our Will to the Father’s deepest desires. With such a grace each of us can be transformed into an effective witness of the Resurrected Christ who lives and reigns over our own lives and the world as we know it. Such change enables us to give all without counting cost and serve faithfully without needing to be approved or appreciated.

Further, such great love received changes the way we forgive and receive the love of others – thus enabling others to hear the Good News because it is safe to believe the good news in our loving presence. Thus, Mary serves as a profoundly important evangelizer – she is the proof, in the flesh, of the good news of God’s salvation. She races to find the companions of Jesus to tell them the Good News that He is Risen and fully alive to us. She cannot wait to tell one and all that Jesus forgives us and lives among us and within us.

The Song of Songs Text chosen for the first reading of this Feast, and the Corinthians reading chosen as an alternate first reading, both express the power of great love. The vessel that receives great love swells to receive yet more – and pours itself out on all around because love hoarded is not love at all.

In a time and place where evangelization, forgiveness for terrible sins, healing from multiple wounds and the promise of everlasting life in joy and peace is so desperately needed, Mary Magdalene becomes the poster person for mercy and evangelization. We need her witness of personal reception of love and outpouring of its effects. We need to know that whatever she received is available to those who are wiling to trust Jesus and to love even in the face of terrible suffering and loss. We need to know that forgiveness for everything accompanies great love – can we receive such good news? Can we trust that we are called to receive that favor?

Today, a warm day in July in the Northern Hemisphere, is a day to stop, pray with Mary for the ability to see and to trust, to know that the Resurrection is real, and the victory of mercy has been accomplished whatever evidence to the contrary we discover in our world. Hear the good news of the resurrection from one who encountered with her whole being the resurrected Lord and gave him her heart fully and without reserve.