Project BLACK MAMBA

'Tis the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene (died circa 63), the "Apostle to the Apostles:" Magdalene-link ūna, Magdalene-link duae, Magdalene-link trēs, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

She was Jewish woman who, according to texts included in the New testament, traveled with Jesus as one of His followers. She is said to have witnessed Jesus's crucifixion & resurrection.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

Mary Magdalene was one of Christ's disciples & was present when He died. Early on the morning of Christ's resurrection, she was the first to see the Risen Lord (according to the Gospel of Mark). By the twelfth century, devotion to Saint Mary Magdalene was widespread in the western Church.

'Tis also the festival of Saint Joseph of Palestine, Confessor (circa 285-356, A.K.A. of Tiberias): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Blessed Benno of Osnabrück, Bishop, O.S.B. (circa 1020-1088, Benno II, A.K.A. Bernard): Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Tis also the festival of Saints Philip Evans, S.J., & John Lloyd, Priests & Martyrs (died 1679), martyred in the reign of the king Charles II, indirect victims of the perjurer Titus Oates's "Popish Plot" hoax; two of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link Papa Echo, Martyr-link Juliett Lima, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link XL.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feast of St. Mary Magdalene
The Song of Songs, chapter three, verses one thru four(b);
or, the Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter five, verses fourteen thru seventeen;
Psalm Sixty-three, verses two, three & four, five & six, & eight & nine;
The Gospel according to John, chapter twenty, verses one, two, & eleven thru eighteen.

Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. Mary Magdalene. Our Gospel says Mary came to the Lord's tomb early in the morning on the first day of the week.

Let's place ourselves there: it is still dark—just the way it was at the beginning of time before God said, "Let there be light." But a light is about to shine, and a new creation is about to appear.

The stone had been rolled away. The stone blocking entrance to the tomb of Jesus stands for the finality of death. When someone that we love dies, it is as though a great stone is rolled across them, permanently blocking our access to them. And this is why we weep at death—not just in grief but in a kind of existential frustration.

Undoubtedly, Mary Magdalene thought that a grave robber had been at work. The wonderful Johannine irony is that the greatest of grave robbers had indeed been at work.

In the book of the prophet Ezekiel, we hear this, "I will open your graves and have you rise from them." What was dreamed about, what endured as a hope against hope, has become a reality. God has opened the grave of his Son.