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Orphan at the age of 17, beautiful and attractive, owner of a great fortune, raised and educated far from religion and Hebrew customs, Mary came to live in one of the properties inherited from her parents in the village of Magdala. Thus she came and gained fame, adding to her name Magdala.
The house in which she lived was sought by Roman patricians, rich merchants, landlords who offered her gold coins, jewels and perfumes, but she was not happy. On one occasion, Mary of Magdala heard about the Rabbi who walked the roads of Galilee and Judea, spreading the Good News; she felt hope growing in her and, one night, after much thinking, she went to Capernaum to hear the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom, not far from the princely village where she lived in pleasure, deeply admiring the Messiah. What was that new love preached to the simple fishermen by such divine lips?
Until that moment she had walked on the red roses of desire, intoxicated with the wine of reprehensible joys, yet her heart was thirsty and discouraged. Young and beautiful, she was free from the stern prejudices of her race and her beauty had conquered and enslaved the most ardent admirers, but her spirit was hungry for love.
Involved by deep thoughts, Mary sought the Master in the humble house of Simon Peter. How would the Lord receive her? His countrymen had never forgiven him for abandoning his home and his life for adventure. But Jesus seemed to be waiting for her, so kindly that he received her with a big smile. The newcomer sat with indefinable emotion stifling her chest, weeping at Jesus' feet, wetting them with her tears, wiping them with her hair, kissing and anointing them with perfume, saying: "Lord, I have heard Your consoling speech and I come to meet you. You have the clairvoyance of the sky and you can guess how I have lived! I am the daughter of sin and all condemn me, but Master, see my thirst for true love! My existence, like all pleasures, has been barren and bitter. (...) I heard your loving invitation to the Gospel. I wanted to be one of your sheep, but would God accept me?" Jesus understood the depths of Magdalene's thoughts and said:
"Mary, lift up your eyes to Heaven and rejoice because you heard the Good News of the Kingdom and God blesses you the joys! Could you think that anyone in the world would be condemned to eternal sin? (...) Go, Mary ... always sacrifice yourself and love.
Far is the way, difficult the journey, narrow the door; but faith removes obstacles (...) fear nothing". (Luke 7:48)
Magdala's sinner listened to the Master absorbing his words. No man had spoken thus to her misunderstood soul. The more frivolous perverted her good inclinations, and the apparently virtuous despised her without mercy. However, the Nazarene Prophet had planted in her soul new thoughts. After she had heard the word, she realized that the facilities of life now brought a deadly boredom to the sensitive spirit. Mary of Magdala wept for a long time, though she did not yet understand what the unknown Prophet was pleading for, yet His loving invitation seemed to resound in the most sensitive fibers of a woman.
Discovering the lily in the marsh and the star beyond the storm is a challenge for anyone who is applying for inner growth. In this way, dangerous entanglements arise, which complicate the march and make difficult the ascension. It was thus with deep love and affection that the divine Master showed Mary and all those who sincerely wish to rise from the dust of their moral ruins, the way forward.
Let us return to Magdalene after the encounter with the Messiah. The news spread rapidly in Magdala about the conversion of the sinner who for all was the lost woman who would have to be stoned in the public square. However, decidedly she gave away everything she owned and with what was strictly necessary, she started a new walk. The renewed life of Magdalene begins from there, representing the example of those who commit mistakes in their evolutionary march, but, at the touch of the love of Christ, they can readjust themselves before the Law of God, turning definitively to the good.
Mary Magdalene is described in the New Testament as one of Jesus' most dedicated disciples; an example of overcoming, she was able to purify herself of all her mistakes, which were not few, understanding and experiencing the meaning of the Master's teachings, transforming her life completely, dedicating herself to the total renewal of her behavior by the practice of love of neighbor. She thus joined those who followed the Messiah, but she realized that they did not trust her transformation, for they did not know and did not yet understand the temptations for which she sought to sublimate herself.
Through the history of Mary of Magdala and her trajectory, we can understand the need to support the brother who thinks of being useful and cannot at the moment, instead of harassing him, fighting him, sowing thorns wherever he goes and taking him to the public trial.
Magdalene accompanied Jesus at all times until Golgotha, standing at the foot of the cross, next to Mary, the mother of the Master and the disciple John. On the third day after the crucifixion, she walked to the tomb with Joanna of Cusa and other women, finding the tombstone removed. The memory made of pain overwhelmed her chest when she heard His voice calling to her. The Nazarene was there, alive. Thus the announcement was made to the disciples - the message of the resurrection, news that spread great joy among all of them.
The days that followed were of nostalgia and memories; she wished to continue with the new disseminators of the Good News, but she experienced solitude and abandonment, but she understood, remembering the Master and resigned herself. To mitigate the immense longing for the Messiah, she began to walk the beaches. Humble and alone, she underwent many sacrifices, working hard for her survival, refusing the proposals of a calmer material life that could hinder her already awakened spirit to the clarity of true love. This love multiplied in proportion as she shared it with the sad and sick of the journey; their joy was reborn in the smiles of the old, young and children, attended with affection.
They came from Idumeia, weary and sad, a group of lepers seeking help from the priest, asking about Jesus, however, they saw all the doors closed, when they met Mary who gathered them under the trees and began to transmit the Gospel to them, the local authorities ordered the immediate expulsion of these brothers. In the face of this, Magdalene journeys with them to Jerusalem, living in the valley of the lepers. From then on every evening the messenger of the Gospel gathered the mob of her new friends and talked about the teachings of Jesus. Ulcerated faces filled with joy seeking a new light. The dying ones dragged themselves close to her and kissed her tunic, and so the daughter of Magdala remembered the Master's love and took them into her brotherly and affectionate arms, bringing to the companions of pain a crumb of hope, saying to them: "Jesus intensely desires that we love one another and that we share in His divine hopes, in the most extreme loyalty to God!"
In a short time, her skin was also showing violet spots of leprosy. It was with them lepers that Mary constituted her earthly family, remembering Jesus daily, keeping faith alive in those hearts, exemplifying herself as the faithful servant of the Christ, submitting herself to all sorts of misfortunes, without ever fainting or complaining. In the strength of her faith, the ex-sinner left the valley through the rough roads. It was a difficult and distressing pilgrimage to Ephesus, suffering humiliation and resorting to charity, yet she rejoiced to recognize that her spirit had no motive for lamentations, for Jesus was waiting for her.
The death of the body reached her at a time when the disease spread throughout her body. She felt a sense of relief when she saw Jesus coming closer more beautiful than ever. His gaze had the reflection of the sky, and his countenance brought an indefinable jubilation. The master held out his hands to her and she lowered herself, exclaiming: "Lord! (...) Jesus gently gathered her into His arms and whispered," Mary, you have already passed the narrow door! You have loved a lot! Come! I will wait for you here!" (John 20:16)
Her spirit attained true glory and happiness. Understanding Him as few, and for this reason the Messiah appeared first to her after her return in Spirit, to tell the world the real importance of the feeling of love in dealing with life.
It appears in the Gospel as a resplendent female figure whom we all reverence. Therefore, let us renew ourselves, meditating on the wise reflection of the Spirit Emmanuel, through the gentle medium Francisco C. Xavier, in the book Fonte Viva, chapter 87: "Remember that it is not you who wait for the Divine light. It is the Divine light, the power of Heaven at your side, which remains waiting for you".
Bibliography:
FRANCO, P. Divaldo - The First fruits of the Kingdom - dictated by the spirit Amelia Rodrigues - 2nd edition - Rio de Janeiro / RJ / Editora Sabedoria - 1967 - The Magdalena Redived.
XAVIER, C. Francisco - Good News - dictated by the Spirit Humberto de Campos – 36thedition - Brasilia / DF / FEB Publishing - 2013 - lesson 20. |
