Alleluia! He is Risen! One of the more beautiful parts of the liturgy on Easter morning is the proclamation of the Easter Sequence, sung right before the Gospel. This hymn dates back roughly 1000 years, and the Church has required its use on Easter Sunday since 1570. Suffice it to say that it has stood the test of time!
In the middle of the hymn, the attention turns to St. Mary Madgalene, who was the first witness of the Resurrection of Jesus. The hymn asks: “Speak, Mary, declaring, what you saw, wayfaring.” Her response follows:
The tomb of Christ, who is living,
The glory of Jesus’ resurrection;
bright angels attesting,
The shroud and napkin resting.
Yes, Christ my hope is arisen;
to Galilee he goes before you.
During this Jubilee Year, as we are invited to be pilgrims of hope, we find in St. Mary Magdalene a model for us to imitate. Recall that she was present when Jesus died on the Cross. But even in the sadness of that dark moment, she still possessed hope. It was hope that brought her to the tomb early Easter morning, and when she sees the Risen Christ, she is overjoyed as her hopes are fulfilled. We then read in John’s Gospel:
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.’”i18Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her. (Jn 20:17-18)
Mary Magdelene, having had her hope fulfilled, now goes out to share that message of hope with others, not content to keep it to herself. She becomes a pilgrim of hope, or in the words of Pope Francis, she becomes an “Apostle to the Apostles.” The message of great hope that Christ is Risen begins to spread, thanks to Mary’s witness of hope.
On first hearing this hymn, people might confuse the mention of the name Mary to be that of our Blessed Mother. And although this is not the Mary it is referring to, nevertheless we can turn to Mary, the Mother of God, on this day as well. For she too was at the foot of the Cross when her Son died. Although she would have suffered greater anguish than Mary Magdelene, her hope was far greater. Therefore we can turn to her as well on this Easter morning, asking her to pray for us who look forward in hope to the Lord’s return in glory. I share a portion of the final paragraph of Pope Benedict’s document on hope, Spe salvi, in which he reflects on Mary as a great model of hope, especially in the light of this great feast we celebrate today:
In this faith, which even in the darkness of Holy Saturday bore the certitude of hope, you made your way towards Easter morning. The joy of the Resurrection touched your heart and united you in a new way to the disciples, destined to become the family of Jesus through faith. In this way you were in the midst of the community of believers, who in the days following the Ascension prayed with one voice for the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14) and then received that gift on the day of Pentecost. The “Kingdom” of Jesus was not as might have been imagined. It began in that hour, and of this “Kingdom” there will be no end. Thus you remain in the midst of the disciples as their Mother, as the Mother of hope. Holy Mary, Mother of God, our Mother, teach us to believe, to hope, to love with you. Show us the way to his Kingdom! Star of the Sea, shine upon us and guide us on our way! (SS 50)