Noli me tengere, a fresco by Fra Angelico, kept in the San Marco Convent in Florence
While meeting with pilgrims in today’s jubilee audience, Pope Francis dwells on the figure of the Magdalene. He emphasizes the deep link between mercy and hope, which is that transformative mercy of God that touches the Magdalene and leads her to follow Jesus. The encounter with the risen Lord opens to the prospect of hope, and inaugurates a different look, a “turning” towards the Risen One, towards life, thus changing horizon and course. The Magdalene at the tomb does just that. Called by Christ, she turns and follows the Lord, letting herself be overwhelmed by the joy of His victory over death. Turning around, she leaves the tomb behind and walks towards Christ who illuminates the path. This is only possible with a heart capable of welcoming and listening to the Master who calls everyone by name. No one is interchangeable. Everyone has their own name, place, and mission. The Pope today asks us precisely to reflect on the mission that each of us has received, and to walk in it with courage and firmness.
Dear brothers and sisters!
The Jubilee is for people and for the Earth a new beginning; it is a time when everything must be rethought within the dream of God. And we know that the word “conversion” indicates a change of direction. Everything can be seen, at last, from another perspective, and so our steps also go towards new goals. This is how hope, which never disappoints, arises. The Bible tells of this in many ways. And for us too, the experience of faith has been stimulated by encounters with people who have been able to change in life and have, so to speak, entered into God’s dreams. For even though there is much evil in the world, we can distinguish who is different: their greatness, which often coincides with littleness, wins us over.
In the Gospels, the figure of Mary Magdalene stands out above all others for this. Jesus healed her with mercy (cf. Lk 8:2), and she changed: sisters and brothers, mercy changes, mercy changes the heart, and for Mary Magdalene, mercy brought her into God’s dreams and gave new purpose to her journey.
The Gospel of John tells of her encounter with the Risen Jesus in a way that makes us think. It is repeated several times that Mary turned around. The Evangelist chooses his words well! In tears, Mary looks first inside the tomb, then she turns around: the Risen one is not on the side of death, but on the side of life. He can be mistaken for one of the people we encounter every day. Then, when she hears her name spoken, the Gospel says that again Mary turns around. And this is how her hope grows: now she sees the tomb, but not like before. She can dry her tears, because she has heard her own name: only the Master pronounces it in this way. The old world still seems to be there, but it is no more. When we feel that the Holy Spirit is acting in our heart, and we feel that the Lord is calling us by name, do we know how to distinguish the voice of the Master?
Dear brothers and sisters, from Mary Magdalene, whom tradition calls “the apostle of the apostles”, we learn hope. One enters the new world by converting more than once. Our journey is a constant invitation to change perspective. The Risen One takes us into His world, step by step, on the condition that we do not claim to know everything already.
Let us ask ourselves today: do I know how to turn around to see things differently, with a different outlook? Do I have the desire for conversion?
An overconfident ego that is too proud prevents us from recognizing the Risen Jesus. Even when we weep and despair, we turn our back on Him. Instead of looking into the darkness of the past, into the emptiness of a tomb, from Mary Magdalene we learn to turn towards life. There our Master awaits us. There our name is spoken. For in real life there is a place for us, always and everywhere. There is a place for you, for me, for everyone. No one can take it, because it has always been meant for us. It is bad, as they say in the common parlance, it is bad to leave an empty seat: “This place is for me; if I don’t go…”. Everyone can say: I have a place, I am a mission! Think about this: what is my place? What is the mission that the Lord gives us? May this thought help us to take a courageous attitude in life. Thank you.
