Dear friends,
With a single word, that of her name :“Mary!”, the eyes of her heart were opened forever. Her name spoken by him was all that was needed to express the love that he had for her in his heart. Early that morning, alone in the garden, Mary Magdalene encountered the Risen Lord and it was a meeting that would know no end. From then on, each day she was to hear him call her name: “Mary!” And each day she was to turn to him and exclaim with joyful love: “Rabboni!”
The encounter painted for us in the Gospel is not unique. Over the long years that have passed since that first Easter Sunday, we have seen it repeated time and time again: “Paul! Tarcisius! Benedict! Francis! Catherine! Ignatius! Theresa! Philip! Damien! Therese! Karl! Maximilian! Chiara! John Paul!” The saints have encountered the Risen Lord. The saint responds over and over again to the personal call of Christ. They have heard him call their names and they have responded: “Rabboni!” Not only day after day, but from moment to moment, the saint turns towards the voice calling his name; he never fails to hear, turn and respond: this is the program of his life.
The call at times might be easy and enjoyable to respond to: “Come follow me up Tabor”. While at other times the response will cause the shedding of blood as he surrenders his will: “Come follow me up Calvary.” No matter the joy or the tears that may result, the saint knows that it is a response made to a call springing forth from a living heart that lives to love.
Jesus came back; he rose from the dead to call us by name; to invite us to a more intimate relationship with him, to make us his saints. Sainthood is a fruit of the Resurrection. It is an encounter with the Risen Lord who calls us by name. The saint hears and responds to the call: “Rabboni! ...You know everything; you know that I love you” (Jn 21:17). We are all called to respond. We are all called to be great saints. Wishing you all a very blessed Easter filled with the joy of Christ's resurrection!
Michael Aguiar, Executive Director
& MBCA Development Team