For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
17 July 2016 – 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
18 July 2016 – Monday of Week 16 Year 2
19 July 2016 – Tuesday of Week 16 Year 2
20 July 2016 – Wednesday of Week 16 Year 2
21 July 2016 – Thursday of Week 16 Year 2
22 July 2016 – St. Mary Magdalene, Memorial
Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. In the Gospel, we come across Mary Magdalene who came to the tomb while it was still dark. She sees the stone which covered the tomb has been moved away and does not enter. Instead, she remained outside the tomb and was weeping. Grief can sometimes blind us to what is reality, and grief had blinded Mary Magdalene into thinking that Jesus’ body had been taken away, when she said: “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have put him.” But what Mary Magdalene failed to realise is that Jesus had risen. It was only when Jesus said to her, “Mary!” that she realised that she was standing face to face with Jesus, and not just the gardener.
What about us? Have we allowed our grief and our weeping to blind us to what is reality? Have we forgotten that Jesus is risen and is in our midst? No matter how difficult or challenging the circumstances we may be in, let us not forget that the Lord Jesus has risen, He has conquered death and He has saved us from our sins. Let us not grief any longer, but rejoice, for our God has won a great victory for us, and let us be humble and willing to let Jesus be our help and guide.
