Be Like St. Mary Magdalene

23 Tuesday Jul 2024

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Evangelization

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Accompaniment, Apostle to the Apostles, Discipleship, John 20: 1-2, John 20: 11-18, Mary of Magdala, Missionary Discipleship, St. Mary Magdalene

Be like St. Mary Magdalene. I don’t mean go and get possessed by seven demons. No, be like her after she met Jesus.

Today is the feast day for St. Mary Magdalene. Yes, her feast day, not just a memorial. Pope Francis recognized her important role as a witness to Christ’s resurrection and, in 2016, raised her celebration from a memorial to a feast day on the same level as the Apostles.

Today’s Gospel, John 20: 1-2, 11-18, recounts the event of the morning after Jesus was crucified and buried. Out of love for Jesus and a burning desire to be with Him, Mary of Magdala went to Jesus’ tomb at the break of dawn, only to discover that the stone had been rolled away and Jesus was no longer there. She ran to tell the news to Peter and John, who raced back to the tomb to see for themselves. Acknowledging that Jesus was gone, but not understanding why, they left and returned home.

Mary, however, stayed at the tomb and wept for her beloved Jesus. She entered the tomb and was approached by Jesus whom she mistakenly thought was the gardener. Jesus told her to stop holding on to Him, and sent her to tell His brothers that He had not yet ascended to the Father. She obeyed and returned to the disciples announcing that she had, “‘Seen the risen Lord,’ and what He told her.”

By returning to her friends, the disciples, Mary became the Apostle to the Apostles, and was the first to evangelize and proclaim Christ’s resurrection, thus earning her place in that select group.

What do I mean by saying “Be like St. Mary Magdalen”? Well, first, we need to develop a loving relationship with Jesus like she did. We need to allow Jesus to save us from our sins. Then, like Mary, we need to spend time with Jesus, building and strengthening that relationship through prayer, listening to Him, and living our lives as He would have us live them. And, finally, we need to heed Jesus’ words to her and tell others about His resurrection. Jesus is sending us on mission. We are all called to be apostles, called to evangelize.

But, you might argue, Mary was sent to the Apostles who already believed in Jesus, men who already had a relationship with Him. That’s right, and we are sent to do the same. We often think of evangelizing as proclaiming the gospel to those who don’t believe. It certainly is, but we can also evangelize those who come to mass every week or most of the time; those who might occasionally attend a study class because they are wanting to learn more; and those who secretly have their doubts about some aspect of our faith. We are called to help others grow in their relationship with Jesus. Like Mary, we can do that by showing our love and devotion to Jesus in prayer, in the Eucharist, and not keeping our faith private. We can reach out to friends and acquaintances, delighting in them and valuing their dignity by inviting them into conversation and offering friendship and hospitality.

Evangelizing in this way will move those who believe but who minimally live their faith, and those who are seeking and growing in their faith, towards being fully missionary disciples. If we are to live out the central mission of our Catholic faith, we are required to make disciples of all nations. We can only do that by building an army of missionary disciples who are willing to evangelize both externally and internally.

You can be like St. Mary Magdalene.

“Heavenly Father, thank You for the St. Marys of Magdala that You put into my life. I would not be the disciple that I am today if missionary disciples who had an intense love for You and a desire to proclaim Your Kingdom had not accompanied me on my faith journey. Lord, I pray for the grace to pay this forward and help others draw closer to You and Your Son, Jesus. Amen.”

(Be Like St. Mary Magdalene, was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2024 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

Biscuits and Gravy

11 Thursday Apr 2024

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Evangelization, Faith, Friendship

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Biscuits and Gravy, Catholic, Evangelization, Faith, Friendship, Missionary Discipleship, The Rescue Project

My southern-raised grandmother had a saying when she received something good over and above what she expected: “Well, isn’t that just gravy on the biscuit!”. This Lent our parish offered a faith-filled “biscuit” and got a heaping ladle of “gravy” thrown in.

Approximately ninety parishioners and parishioners-to-be gathered to experience The Rescue Project, a faith-building/evangelization program. Participants sat at the same table of eight, and, over eight weeks, filled their bellies with good food and their minds and souls with delicious “biscuits” – an expected deeper understanding of our Catholic faith.

The “gravy” came in the form of evangelizing through developing friendships. Many at the tables were strangers to each other, so table leaders had to be intentional about creating an inviting atmosphere for everyone to comfortably share their personal insights and what they received from the presentations. This intentionality had to stem from a genuine interest in the other person and a desire to get to know their story. With each successive week, participants became more comfortable and trusting, laughed and cried together, and became close friends. Since the program ended, table members have arranged to meet for meals, for prayer, and have stayed in touch supporting each other in their daily walk with Christ.

Everyone who attended The Rescue Project came to be inspired in their faith, and they left with much more – new friends with whom they could share their love for Jesus. But, those ninety folks are not unique in the world. There are millions just like them eager for friendship and the chance to tell their story if only someone is interested enough to listen. They are in our parishes, our neighborhoods, and our workplaces. They are the people sitting next to you in the church pew, or the new parishioner who’s just moved to town and doesn’t know anyone. They could be someone who is lost and despairing, who is blindly looking for salvation. God put you in their path on purpose.

To be missionary disciples, we need to intentionally seek opportunities to be friends who can bring others to Christ. We need to be welcoming and hospitable, and help others find joy in the world by delighting in them and helping them feel relevant, that they are beloved sons and daughters of God. God made us for each other. He shows His love for us through other people. Your next best friend may just be the person you’re about to meet. Delight in them. Be the “gravy” on their “biscuit”.

“Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of faith, for the gift of friendship, and the opportunity to bring the two together. Thank You for Fr. John Riccardo and his ACTS XXIX team for developing The Rescue Project. Thank you for putting it on the hearts of so many in our parish to participate and bring the love of Christ to others. Amen.”

(Biscuits and Gravy was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

Be an Ambassador for Christ

29 Wednesday Nov 2023

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Christian Life

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Ambassador for Christ, Christian Life, Friendship, Missionary Discipleship, Spiritual friendship

It’s been a while since my last post, and tonight seems like a good time to make amends. I’m going to do something new – reach back into my “draft” file and dust off one of the many unfinished reflections which never got posted because I ran out of time. This one took shape back in September but I don’t think it’s lost any relevance in the two months it’s sat incubating.

Be an Ambassador for Christ

One of my responsibilities as an alumni staff member at the Catholic Spiritual Mentorship Program in Kansas City is to be hospitable and get to know as many of the participants as I can. Since much of our days are structured, we have to be intentional about taking advantage of breaks and mealtimes to get to know one another.

I thought I’d done a decent job of meeting everyone, but today I found myself at the coffee bar standing behind Charlie and Julie, husband and wife, a couple with whom I’d not yet had the pleasure of officially meeting. I realized that this week of classes would be over in two days and I’d probably never see them again. Then and there I thought, “I need to get to know these folks”. So, I waited for Charlie to fill his cup and then said, “Charlie, I apologize but we’ve spent all this time together in the same building and we haven’t had a chance to talk. Let’s change that and have lunch together.” He and Julie both lit up with smiles and replied they would like that very much.

We walked and talked on our way to the dining hall and I learned a little about them. I said I wanted to hear their story and was surprised to hear Julie say that they already knew much of mine because someone had introduced them to this blog. Then, over lunch we had a beautiful conversation. Charlie and Julie shared some of their personal life with me, their love for Jesus and their desire to lead others closer to Him. Like the spiritual mentors they are training to be, they asked me good questions that prompted me to share more of my story with them, too.

Charlie and Julie are very nice people with warm smiles and gentle eyes. Like many folks, however, they are slightly uncomfortable in meeting new people and making the first move to initiate a conversation. But, all it took was someone to take the initiative, to be intentional, and to express an interest in them, and they were ready to welcome a new friend.

Charlie and Julie are not unique in this world, There are millions of people just like them who are eager for friendship and the chance to tell their story if only someone would be interested enough to listen. These people are not elsewhere. They are in our parishes, our neighborhoods and our workplaces. They are the people sitting next to you in the church pew, or the new parishioner who’s just moved to town and doesn’t know anyone. They could be someone who is lost and despairing, and God put you in their path on purpose.

As Catholics, we need to be ambassadors of friendship. We need to be Ambassadors for Christ. We need to be welcoming and hospitable and help others find happiness in the world by delighting in them and helping them feel relevant, and affirming that they are beloved sons and daughters of God.

To take the first step in becoming an Ambassador for Christ, it may require you to get out of your comfort zone. You may need to prepare by thinking, “I’m going to intentionally meet someone new today!” When you do, you’ll need the courage to reach out for a handshake and say, “Hi, I’m [name], I don’t think we’ve met before. What’s your name?” You may need to be ready with a follow-up question that will propagate the conversation such as (if they are new in the parish), “Oh, welcome, we’re glad to have you! Where are you from?” It’s actually pretty simple. Some of my closest friendships began just this way.

Although your next best friend might just be the person you’re about to meet, you don’t have to approach someone with the intention of becoming best friends. One can enter into a friendship with nothing in common except knowing that you have a shared love for our Lord. A friendship such as this allows you to open up about your successes and struggles in your walk with Jesus. It’s a friendship in which you accompany each other on your journeys.

Each one of us can have a spiritual friendship with another person. Whether we admit it or not, we need each other. God made us for each other. He shows His love for us through other people. We just have to seek and be open to opportunities, be open to where and to whom the holy Spirit is leading us, and invest in another person by listening to their story.

Charlie and Julie and I spent less than an hour together. We may never see each other again. But I know we could pick up the conversation right where we left off. The friendship we built in those few minutes will endure. I think we brought each other just a little bit closer to Christ. I am grateful for the grace to get out of my comfort zone and meet someone new, and I’m grateful to Charlie and Julie for enriching my life by sharing their story with me.

Charlie and Julie, peace to you both, my friends! I know your love for Jesus and others will enable you to be amazing Ambassadors for Christ. God bless!

“Dear God, thank You for the grace to set aside my personal discomfort and introverted-ness to become a better missionary disciple, an Ambassador for Your Son, Jesus. May the examples I set encourage others to also reach out and become Ambassadors who in turn will proclaim the Good News of the Gospel. Amen.”

(Be an Ambassador for Christ was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2023 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.