July 22, 2015
First Reading
Exodus 16:1-5, 9-15
1They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2And the whole congregation of the people of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3and said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." 4Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or not.5On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily." 9And Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, 'Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your murmurings.'" 10And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11And the LORD said to Moses, 12"I have heard the murmurings of the people of Israel; say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'" 13In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning dew lay round about the camp. 14And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as hoarfrost on the ground. 15When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 78:18-19, 23-28
18They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. 19They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness? 23Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven; 24and he rained down upon them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven. 25Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance. 26He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind; 27he rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas; 28he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their habitations.
Gospel
John 20:1-2, 11-18
1Now on the first day of the week Mary Mag'dalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." 11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; 12and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." 14Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." 16Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rab-bo'ni!" (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." 18Mary Mag'dalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
Commentary Saint Gregory the Great
At this point we must stop and reflect upon the ardent love in the heart of this woman who would not leave the Lord's grave even after his own disciples had gone away. She continued seeking him whom she could not find; in tears she kept searching; and, afire with love, she yearned for him whom she believed had been removed. Thus it happened that she alone saw him, she who had remained behind to seek him, simply because a truly good act involves the virtue of perseverance. For the lips of Truth itself have said: "Whoever perseveres to the end shall be saved" (Mt 10,22)... Holy desires grow with delay: if they fade through delay they are no desires at all. Such must be the love that inflames anyone who is reaching out for the truth. This is why David says: "My soul thirsts for the living God; when shall I come and behold the face of God?" (Ps 41[42],3). And the Church says in the Song of Songs, "I am wounded by love", and again, "My soul failed me" (Sg 2,5). "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" She is asked the cause of her sorrow so that her longing may increase, for when she names the one she seeks she burns with yet greater love for him. "Jesus said to her: Mary." First of all he called her by the title common to all her sex, and she did not recognize him. Now he calls her by her own name, as if to say plainly: "Now recognize the one who recognizes you. For I know you, not in some general way along with other people, but personally." Addressed by her own name, Mary recognizes her maker and straightway calls him "Rabboni", that is "Teache". Outwardly it was he who was the object of her search, but inwardly it was he who was teaching her to search for him.
HYa9$
