By now, we should throw away our traditional image of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute, no matter how ingrained this image is in the popular mindset. In the first place, she is not described as such in the Bible. What is, however, in Holy Scripture is that she was rid of seven demons by Jesus (Lk 8:2; Mk 16:9).

While there is no detailed account of the event or how the seven demons tormented her, she must have suffered a lot in the hands of these evil spirits that overwhelmed her. But by the power of Jesus, she was liberated from these powers and became free and whole again. The transforming power of what Jesus did to her is attested by the fact that she became a close follower of Jesus and even became the first to have visited the tomb and witnessed the resurrection.

She became the apostle to the apostles, tasked to announce the Good News to them. In what way or ways have we also undergone a kind of dramatic transformation in our lives from evil to good? How did this come about? And what sort of transformation did it bring on us? What good news did we also bring to others from that experience? Mary Magdalene is our model of hope, of discipleship, and of witness to the transformative power of Jesus’ love.

Gospel • John 20:1-2, 11-18

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”

Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he told her.

Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2026.” E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.