在2016年以前，教會按照紀念日的等級紀念這位元聖人。2016年6月3日，聖座禮儀及聖事部遵照教宗方濟各的意願，在羅馬禮儀日曆中把瑪利亞·瑪達肋納的紀念日抬格為慶日來慶祝。聖部在法令中是這樣介紹這位聖婦的：這位婦人，因愛基督和被基督深愛而得名，大聖額我略稱她是“天主仁慈的見證人”，聖多瑪斯•阿奎那（Saint Thomas Aquinas）稱她是“宗徒的宗徒”，現在，信徒們能把她看作是在教會內女性角色的楷模。（參看：聖座禮儀及聖事部：在羅馬禮儀日曆中把瑪利亞•瑪達肋納抬升至慶日慶祝法令 Prot. N. 257/16）
在2016年以前，教会按照纪念日的等级纪念这位圣人。2016年6月3日，圣座礼仪及圣事部遵照教宗方济各的意愿，在罗马礼仪日历中把玛利亚·玛达肋纳的纪念日抬格为庆日来庆祝。圣部在法令中是这样介绍这位圣妇的：这位妇人，因爱基督和被基督深爱而得名，大圣额我略称她是“天主仁慈的见证人”，圣多玛斯•阿奎那（Saint Thomas Aquinas）称她是“宗徒的宗徒”，现在，信徒们能把她看作是在教会内女性角色的楷模。（参看：圣座礼仪及圣事部：在罗马礼仪日历中把玛利亚•玛达肋纳抬升至庆日庆祝法令 Prot. N. 257/16）
July 22, 2026 Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene Gospel: John 20:1-2, 11-18
Today is Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene today. The recently published Roman Missal tells us: Saint Mary Magdalene (1st century), from the city of Magdala in Galilee, was one of the Lord’s most intimate disciples and is commonly identified as the woman from whom the Lord drove out seven demons. She remained with the Lord during His Passion, standing by the Cross in His final agony; according to the accounts of Saint Mark and Saint John, she was also the first to see the Risen Lord. Ecclesiastical tradition relates that she spent her later years as a hermit in Provence, France, where she lived out the remainder of her life.
Prior to 2016, the Church commemorated this saint with the rank of a Memorial. On June 3, 2016, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, in accordance with the wishes of Pope Francis, elevated the Memorial of Mary Magdalene to the rank of a Feast in the Roman Calendar. In its decree, the Congregation describes this holy woman thus: “This woman, known for her love of Christ and for being greatly loved by Him, was called by Saint Gregory the Great ‘a witness to God’s mercy,’ and by Saint Thomas Aquinas ‘the Apostle to the Apostles.’ Henceforth, the faithful may look to her as a model for the role of women in the Church.” (cf. Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Decree Elevating the Memorial of Saint Mary Magdalene to the Rank of Feast in the Roman Calendar, Prot. No. 257/16)
Today’s Gospel passage from Saint John presents the story of Saint Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. I wish to offer some reflections on this occasion.
We know that the tomb is a sign of death. When we approach a tomb, it is natural for us to recall those friends or family members buried there. This is because we view life and death according to the logic of this world, rather than through the eyes of faith.
Today, when Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found it empty, what did she do? She did not enter the tomb immediately. Instead, she went to Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved, indeed to all the Apostles in Jerusalem and those gathered with them, to announce what had happened. What did she proclaim? She said: “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” (cf. John 20:1-2) At that moment, she still viewed these events according to the logic of this passing world. She remained weeping outside the tomb. Later, summoning her courage, she entered the tomb where Jesus had lain and saw two angels clothed in white—the Gospel passage selected does not recount their words to her. But when she emerged from that tomb, she encountered the Risen Lord. He called her by the name she knew so well: “Mary!” Instantly, she recognized that the person before her was the Jesus she sought. She longed to remain with Jesus.
Today, we too long to remain with Jesus. Yet He says to us: “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (cf. John 20:17) For He is always with us. He meets us in the sacraments, in prayer, in every suffering person we encounter—in the least, the marginalized, and those in distress—in the tabernacle, and on the Cross, under diverse forms. He desires even more that we bring the joyful news of His Resurrection to all people, so that through our service, and especially through the renewal of our own way of life, the world may rediscover the Savior hidden within their lives.
May we all imitate the virtuous example of Saint Mary Magdalene, following Jesus Christ with undivided hearts, docile to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, becoming worthy preachers of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ to the world, and bearing courageous witness to the truth through the concrete experience of our lives.
O God, whose Only Begotten Son entrusted Mary Magdalene before all others with announcing the great joy of the Resurrection, grant, we pray, that through her intercession and example we may proclaim the living Christ and come to see him reigning in your glory. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
The Divine Patience in the Mystery of the Harvest Gospel: Matthew 13:1-23
Fr. Jijo Kandamkulathy CMF Claretian Missionaries
We live in an era of action accelerated by fast AI inputs, immediate results, quick fixes, and black-and-white efficiency. If a computer program has a bug, we patch it. If a crop is infected with weeds, we spray it. If a person irritates us or acts hypocritically, our immediate instinct is often to reject, cancel, or ‘block’ and ‘delete’ them. We want clean lines, pristine fields, and quick judgments. In today’s Gospel, Jesus meets this restless human impulse with a profound divine paradox through the parables of the Weeds among the Wheat, the Mustard Seed, and the Leaven. Together, these stories invite us to step away from the harsh tribunal of human judgment and enter into the spacious, patient heart of God.
The Parable of the Weeds begins with an act of malice. An enemy sneaks into a farmer’s field at night and sows darnel among the wheat. In its early stages, darnel looks almost identical to true wheat, its roots intertwining with the good crop beneath the soil. When the servants notice the weeds, their reaction is immediate and aggressive, asking if they should go and pull them up right away. It is a reasonable, human response, yet the master stops them, explaining that in gathering the weeds they might root up the wheat along with them, so both must be allowed to grow together until the harvest.
Notice the master’s concern here. He is not indifferent to the presence of evil; he is protective of the good. His refusal to act prematurely is rooted in a deep understanding of human complexity. In our eagerness to sanitize our surroundings—to purge the church, the community, or the family of every flaw—we risk destroying the fragile, developing good in others, and even in ourselves. How often do we act like those impatient servants? We look at society, our parishes, or our own households, and we want to draw clear boundaries between the righteous and the unrighteous. But human hearts are not static fields. The mystery of divine grace is that a weed today can become wheat tomorrow. If God had cut down Saul on the road to Damascus before his transformation, the Church would have lost Saint Paul. If God had prematurely judged the sinner, we would have no Saint Augustine. God’s patience is not apathy; it is the necessary space required for human repentance and redemption.
Jesus pairs this lesson on divine patience with two imagery-rich illustrations of the Kingdom’s growth: the mustard seed and the leaven. The mustard seed is tiny and almost negligible, yet it contains the blueprint of a bush large enough for birds to nest in its branches. Similarly, a woman kneads a tiny piece of fermented dough into three large measures of flour, and it works silently and invisibly from within until the entire batch is transformed. These parables speak directly to our spiritual fatigue and existential anxiety. We often look at the world around us—the pervasive injustice, the breakdown of values, the indifference toward faith—and feel helpless. We wonder if our quiet prayers, our small acts of charity, or our daily struggles to remain faithful make any real difference.
Jesus assures us that the Kingdom of God does not advance through grand spectacle, political dominance, or loud applause. It operates like leaven. It penetrates the culture from the inside out, through the quiet, consistent presence of believers who live the Gospel in their daily routines. A gentle word, a forgiving attitude at work, a silent sacrifice for a family member—these are the mustard seeds of grace. They seem small to human eyes, but in the hands of the Creator, they hold cosmic significance and quiet power.
At the close of the passage, Jesus explains the parable privately to his disciples, affirming that there will indeed be a final judgment at the end of the age. But that judgment belongs strictly to God, the only righteous and clear-eyed Judge. Our fundamental mistake is confusing our role with God’s. We act as though we were appointed to be the field inspectors of the world, constantly measuring, grading, and condemning. Yet our true vocation is far simpler and much more demanding: we are called to be healthy wheat.
When we examine our own interior lives with honest candor, we discover that the field of wheat and weeds is not just out there in the world; it runs right down the center of our own hearts. Within each of us, there are noble aspirations alongside selfish desires, genuine faith alongside persistent doubt, and patience alongside hidden anger. If God treats us with such immense, gentle patience—allowing the good in us time to mature while holding back His judgment—we must ask ourselves how we can treat others with harshness and condemnation.
We are invited to consider where we might be overly hasty in our judgments, and whether there is someone we have written off whom God is still tenderly tending. We must trust that God can use our quiet, everyday efforts to bring about true transformation, striving to serve as peace-bearing leaven in a restless world. May we ask the Master of the Harvest for hearts that reflect his mercy, giving us the humility to trust his hidden work as we wait with hope for the fullness of his Kingdom.
全属于祢 
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