Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of one of the important figures in the Gospel, that is of St. Mary Magdalene, one of the women who followed Jesus constantly in His journeys and travels, and who was known as a sinner from whom Jesus cast out seven demons or evil spirits, and who thereafter followed Him and was one of the women who waited on Jesus as He hung from the cross.

She was also honoured to be one of the first to witness the Lord after His resurrection from the dead, to see Him in His glorious majesty which is revealed as the truth, that He has conquered death and sin. And this truly has a great significance for us all, just as it had a great significance on St. Mary Magdalene as well. This is how the Gospel today is very significant, as the culmination of our own journey in life.

If we look at the Psalm and the first reading today, all of them spoke about a certain longing for the Lord, for His wisdom and light, which all of us seek, for we all live in darkness and away from the bliss and true joy which is in God alone, and we long for it. But on our path to reach it, many of us were often distracted by false leads and false pleasures of this world, which Satan is offering us to keep us away from the true path towards salvation in God.

The story of the life and conversion of St. Mary Magdalene should be an inspiration to us all. In it we saw a woman whose life once was filled with vice, and demons dwelled in her, and no one would want to go near to her, for the debauchery and wickedness she committed and the demons within her kept most people away. But the Lord showed mercy on her, cast out those demons from her and liberated her from the tyranny of evil.

What He told her and her other contemporaries, sinful women condemned but then rescued by the Lord was that they ought to go and sin no more, for their faith had saved them. They have been reclaimed from the darkness and sin no longer has power over them. And the same applies to us all as well. This is why the scene of St. Mary Magdalene who witnessed the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is important, because Christ risen from the dead represents the triumph over the forces of sin and death.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on this day on our own lives, on whether we have been like St. Mary Magdalene and all the other repentant sinners who became martyrs and saints like St. Augustine of Hippo, a great sinner once but turned to be a glorious saint because he turned his back to his past life of sin and embraced the love of God anew.

Indeed, what matters to all of us is that God does not call great men to do great things. On the other hand, He called sinners and people who had gone wayward to be His disciples and followers. Many great saints were once great sinners too, but most importantly, they changed their ways, repented and followed the Lord with a renewed faith and zeal.

The same too should happen to us all. We should also be renewed in our faith, so that by our conversion to the truth, we may be like St. Mary Magdalene in all her glory, for she is known no longer as a sinner, but as a devoted and holy woman, whose faith and righteousness has pleased the Lord. The Lord is willing to overlook our past sins and wickedness, if only that we abandon them thoroughly and commit ourselves to a new life in God.

May Almighty God be with all of us, and may He strengthen our resolve to look for Him, to embrace Him and to find Him, and be freed of the darkness and evils that had tainted our hearts and souls. May all of us be reunited to Him, our Lord and Master, and may we all love Him forevermore. God bless us all. Amen.