Reflection Date: July 22, 2025 Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
Daily Readings: Song of Solomon 3:1-4b; John 20:1-2, 11-18
The liturgical readings of the day beautifully highlight the profound intimacy a believer can sincerely seek with God. Holy Mother Church proposes them on the Feast of St. Mary of Magdala, a woman renowned for her deep and personal love for the Lord. It was this love that led her to accompany Jesus and His disciples, providing for their needs out of her own resources (cf. Luke 8:3). It was the same love that brought her to the tomb early in the morning to anoint Jesus’ body. That very love momentarily blinded her eyes, so full of grief, that she failed to recognize the Risen Lord. Yet it was also love that made her run to the apostles with the proclamation of the Resurrection.
Mary of Magdala witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, a rare privilege among the disciples. For this, she is rightly called “the Apostle to the Apostles.” In her tender and reverent cry of “Rabbouni” (Teacher and Master), spoken in Aramaic, she expresses not just respect, but a deeply personal bond. While many called Jesus “Rabbi,” she made Him her Lord, intimately, reverently, completely. This intensity of love is poetically captured in today’s first reading from the Song of Solomon.
Also known as The Song of Songs, this book is a lyrical celebration of love, metaphorical, yet rich in divine meaning. It portrays the longing of lovers, the yearning of the bride for the bridegroom, a fitting image of the bond between God and His people, or between Christ and His Church. In Mary Magdalene, we see this love come alive. Like the deer that pants for streams of water (cf. Ps 42:1–2), the soul of the believer longs for God. And such love is not sentimental; it is sacrificial, loyal, and passionately committed.
Call to Action: Love for people must be rooted in love for God. Both require unwavering commitment. What does my love for God look like today?
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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