Episode Transcript  

One

The burial

After Jesus died on the Cross, Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked the Governor for permission to take Jesus down from the Cross and bury Him properly. Pilate granted the request. So, Joseph took the body of Jesus, cleansed and anointed it, wrapped it in a clean shroud, and put it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out of the rock in the garden very near the place of the Crucifixion, only about thirty yards. He then rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. But Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, stayed there, sitting opposite the tomb. (Mt 27:61)

How long did they remain? Only God knows. Eventually, they left. Yet Mary Magdalene was drawn back, returning early on Sunday morning. When she arrived and found the Lord’s body missing, she believed it had been taken and ran to tell the disciples. They came, saw the empty tomb, and then went home. But Mary remained. She stayed outside, weeping.

Gregory the Great writes, “We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found, and while she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him…”

Two

Easter – The Moment to Persevere

Peter ran to the Tomb, did not see Jesus, and went away unbelieving, because he did not remain. He did not watch and pray. Jesus later reprimands the Apostles in the Upper Room for their unbelief. We must learn the lesson of the Magdalene. She waited, she persevered in prayer, and she was the first to encounter Jesus in His resurrection. 

Those who learn to remain in prayer will eventually experience the Risen Christ! I am always amazed and encouraged by the huge crowds at Ash Wednesday for the beginning of Lent. So many people make good resolutions to spend more time in prayer and to remove sinful habits from their lives. But then Easter comes, and we relax our effort and lose so many good spiritual practices. 

Why don’t we persevere like the Magdalene? 

Three

Increasing our Desire 

Those who persevere in daily prayer, meditation, and a concrete resolution will encounter the Risen Christ. But it usually does not happen right away. Why does God make us wait?

St. Gregory the Great explains, “When our desires are not satisfied, they grow stronger and, becoming stronger, they take hold of their object. Holy desires likewise grow with anticipation… ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?’ She is asked why she is sorrowing so that her desire might be strengthened; for when she mentions whom she is seeking, her love is kindled all the more ardently.”

God sometimes seems hidden because He is increasing our desire. And He gives Himself to us according to the measure of that desire. If our desire is small, it must grow. So He makes us wait. In the waiting, anticipation grows, desire deepens, and love intensifies.

This is why we must remain in prayer, especially when it feels like nothing is happening. Stay with Jesus in the dryness. Do not leave. Because in that hidden time, your desire is being stretched, and your capacity to receive Him is expanding. Mary Magdalene shows us the way. She stayed at the tomb. She did not leave. She kept seeking. And because she persevered, she was the first to meet the Risen Christ. 

Do the same. Persevere in prayer. Let your desire grow. And Jesus will fill you with Himself, and your joy will be full.

Four

Resolution for the Easter Season

What is our resolution for this meditation? Daily Meditation with a resolution is the best practice to keep us growing in friendship with Jesus after Easter. Especially daily meditation in the Rosary because the Rosary is the School of Mary, the School of the Holy Spirit. 

St. John of the Cross offers this encouragement, “Seek in reading and you will find in meditation; knock in prayer and it will be opened to you in contemplation. The further you withdraw from earthly things, the closer you approach heavenly things and the more you find in God.”
(Sayings of Light and Love, 158-159)

Lent is forty days. The Easter Season, ending with Pentecost, is fifty days. Why not make a concrete resolution to stay committed to your spiritual practices for the next fifty days rather than going on vacation from them? Persevere like Mary Magdalene. 

Five

Third Day of the Novena to Divine Mercy

Jesus said to St. Faustina, “Today bring to Me all devout and faithful souls, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. These souls brought Me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were that drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness.”

“Most Merciful Jesus, from the treasury of Your mercy You impart Your graces in great abundance to each and all.  Receive us into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart and never let us escape from it.  We beg this of You by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely.”

“The miracles of mercy are impenetrable. Neither the sinner nor the just one will fathom them. When You cast upon us an eye of pity, You draw us all closer to Your love.”

“Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of your Son. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen.”

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