Luke 8:1-3

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Psalm 17:1bcd, 6-7, 8b and 15

Luke 8:1-3

Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another,

preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.

Accompanying him were the Twelve

and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities,

Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,

Susanna, and many others

who provided for them out of their resources.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you call all people to accompany your Son and form part of the Church. Help me to know what my role is in the company of your Son. Enable me to place the gifts and talents you have given me at the service of the Gospel.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Women who Accompanied Jesus: Jesus continued to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to the towns and villages of Galilee. Jesus was accompanied not only by the Twelve Apostles but also by several women. The Gospels tell us several things about these women. First, they were cured by Jesus of both evil spirits and infirmities. The natural leader of the group, Mary Magdalene, was cured of seven demons. Second, the women provided for Jesus and his Apostles out of their resources. The city of Magdala, for example, was an affluent city because of the fish trade there and Mary Magdalene was wealthy. Third, the women followed Jesus and ministered to him. Like the Apostles, they responded to Jesus’ call: “Follow me.” They listened to Jesus’ teaching and put it into practice. They expressed their love through service. Fourth, they came up with Jesus to Jerusalem. Going up to Jerusalem means more than just a physical journey. It is a spiritual journey that leads to the Cross and the Resurrection. It means preparing yourself to die with Jesus. It means walking alongside Jesus and walking in the light.

2. More about the Women: Fifth, the women were brave enough to approach Jesus as he carried the Cross. They did not abandon Jesus in the hour of his Passion (Benedict XVI, February 14, 2007). As he carried the cross, Jesus told the women not to weep for him, but for themselves and their children. Jesus made all things new through his passion and obedient sacrifice. This is not a cause for sadness but for joy (Saint Athanasius, Festal Letter 9). Sixth, the women who followed Jesus contemplated the mystery of the Cross both from afar (Matthew 27:55) and at the foot of the Cross (John 19:25). Of the Apostles, only John we are told stood by the cross of Jesus. The women, on the other hand, are with Jesus at the Cross: Mary, the Mother of Jesus; Mary, the wife of Clopas; and Mary Magdalene. Seventh, the women saw where Jesus was laid and prepared spices to anoint Jesus' Body after the Sabbath rest. Several women hurried to the tomb on the morning of the third day. They are celebrated in the East as the “myrrh-bearers”: Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha of Bethany, Joanna, Salome, Susanna, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary the Mother of James and Joseph. They did not find Jesus’ Body but rather encountered the angel who announced the Good News to them that Jesus had risen! Mary Magdalene became an “Apostle to the Apostles” and announced the Lord’s Resurrection to the Apostles in the Upper Room. “Just as a woman announced the words of death to the first man, so also a woman was the first to announce to the Apostles the words of life” (Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Gospel of John, 2519).

3. Paul’s Understanding of the Resurrection: The great mystery of the Resurrection is at the center of the passage we read from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. He had to correct the error of those who believed that Christ rose from the dead, but that there is no resurrection of the dead for anyone else. For Paul, the two truths go together. If Christ did not rise from the dead, not only would the apostolic witness be empty, but the faith of Christians would be in vain. Furthermore, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then we would still be in our sin. The Resurrection of Jesus means that when we die, the body decays, but the soul goes to meet God and awaits its reunion with its body at the final Resurrection. “God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus’ Resurrection” (CCC, 997). All of the dead will rise, “those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:29). How our bodies will rise on the last day exceeds our imagination and understanding. But our participation in the Eucharist already gives us a foretaste of Christ’s transfiguration of our bodies. As Saint Irenaeus writes, “Just as bread that comes down from the earth, after God’s blessing has been invoked upon it, is no longer ordinary bread, but Eucharist, formed of two things, the one earthly and the other heavenly: so too our bodies, which partake of the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but possess the hope of the resurrection” (Irenaeus, Against the Heretics, 4, 18, 4-5; CCC, 1000).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, as I contemplate the group of your followers and the mystery of your Resurrection, I am filled with hope. I know that you can welcome me, purify me, and strengthen me to work for your Kingdom. You are the Resurrection and the Life!

Living the Word of God: Am I providing for others out of my resources? If I were to stand before God today, can I say I have fed the hungry, clothed the naked, sheltered the homeless, cared for the sick, and visited the lonely? Have I practiced the seven spiritual works of mercy? What can I do better?