A Reflection for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene
You can find today’s readings here.
Stop holding on to me.
At first glance, Jesus’ words seem almost a bit callous. Mary Magdalene has been grieving alone at the tomb, weeping, keeping faithful watch. Then, she realizes he is missing, and although she alerts Simon Peter and the beloved disciple, it seems as though she is the only one who actually looks for Jesus. Then, he appears. Mary Magdalene is the first witness to the miracle of his rising, and as soon as she recognizes him, he tells her to let go: “Stop holding onto me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.”
It reminds me of the muggy August day when my parents dropped me off at Boston College. I had dreamed of it for years—I was beyond excited to begin college, and B.C. was my dream school. Yet when that last box was unloaded and we walked uphill towards the car, I wanted my mom and dad to stay forever. When we reached the minivan, I clung to them and wept. I had never lived so far from them—who would I be when I let go?
I felt the same way during senior week at B.C., lingering in the common room with my friends well past 4 a.m., holding tight to each fleeting moment. And now, as I write this on my last day as an O’Hare Fellow at America, dreading taking down the photographs from my desk and saying my final goodbyes, today’s Scripture reminds me that I have never been good with change.
I want to cling to things that I love, to stretch these final seconds ever longer, but Jesus says: Revel in these sacred moments, trust in their goodness, and then let them go. “Stop holding on to me.”
As difficult as it is to loosen our grip on precious time with those whom we love, we must. The time will pass anyways. But if we trust that the love shared in that time is never lost, we can give that love to whatever corner of the world we might find ourselves in next. These encounters—with the Risen Lord and with each other—form us as people. We take them everywhere we go.
Jesus’ command to let go is not the end; it never is.
“But go to my brothers,” Jesus tells Mary Magdalene, “and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” And through immense faith, she is able to let go of her friend, her savior, whom she thought to be dead just moments ago. It is by letting go that she becomes the Apostle to the Apostles, the first to spread the Gospel.
