Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
Reading 1 Song of Songs 3:1-4b
The Bride says:
On my bed at night I sought him
whom my heart loves–
I sought him but I did not find him.
I will rise then and go about the city;
in the streets and crossings I will seek
Him whom my heart loves.
I sought him but I did not find him.
The watchmen came upon me,
as they made their rounds of the city:
Have you seen him whom my heart loves?
I had hardly left them
when I found him whom my heart loves.
OR 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Brothers and sisters:
The love of Christ impels us,
once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;
therefore, all have died.
He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh;
even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh,
yet now we know him so no longer.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
R. (2) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Tell us, Mary, what did you see on the way?
I saw the glory of the risen Christ, I saw his empty tomb.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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.
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
July 23, 2026 // Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time // Optional Memorial of Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 13:10–17
Reflect on the Word //
I minored in Spanish as an undergrad, and one of our assignments involved translating an essay into English. Somewhere along the way, I got a key word wrong and ended up with a heartfelt reflection on a family heirloom onion that had been passed down from a grandmother, an onion that the writer recognized as a sacred part of their family. Something to treasure.
When I got to class, I discovered that the story was actually about a bracelet, not an onion, which made a lot more sense. Somehow, I chose the wrong word in translation and everything else was lost! I got most of it right, except the heart of the message. I heard but did not understand.
“You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see” (Matthew 13:14).
How terrible and confusing when we hear but do not understand, when we look but do not see. I worked so hard to translate only to discover I was misunderstanding everything. Jesus, quoting the prophet Isaiah, warns of this—the danger of closing our eyes and ears to Him. When we don’t listen to the Lord with our heart, we get it all wrong. We can become so busy, or so convinced we have it figured out, that we are missing the point.
The best way to hear the Lord is to get in the habit of listening. We read Scripture. We fill ourselves with the goodness of God. And mostly, we must sit at the feet of the Lord and listen to what He has to say. It is not enough to just talk to Him; we also must tune our eyes and ears toward His voice and wait for Him to speak.
Like Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus, we must listen to the voice of our Savior. He loves when we talk to Him, but in order to hear, we must also be willing to sit and listen, to hear and understand.
Relate to the Lord // Read (or re-read) the daily readings today. Listen for His voice.
The 2026 [virtual] Scripture Summit Begins In
Rachel Balducci is a writer and speaker and co-host of the Gist on CatholicTV. She has a Masters degree from the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia and teaches at Augusta University and is working on her doctorate in Religion at the University of Georgia. She and her husband Paul have five sons and one daughter and are part of an intentional Christian community in Augusta, Georgia. Find out more about her here.
