Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, July 22

"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all" (2 Corinthians 5:14)

The Gospels say nothing about Mary Magdalene being a prostitute. All we are told is that from her "seven demons had come out" (Luke 8:2). The passage quoted above points to the fact that something, or someone, had a power over Mary and compelled her to do the will of someone other than God. Presumably, that led to her condemnation by the "good people" of the town of Magdala. But Jesus's love "compelled" Mary to turn away from whatever demons controlled her life.

That love compelled Mary to remain with her Master, even when he was dying on the cross, when all the men save one had run away and gone into hiding. That love compelled Mary to go to the tomb early on Sunday morning, for no other reason than to be as close to Jesus as he could get. The love of the risen Jesus who called her by name – "Mary!" – compelled her to become the first apostle.

To be an apostle is literally to be "sent." And sent Mary was, first to the official 12 Apostles, then according to some stories, to the Roman Emperor Tiberius. According to the story, she held an egg and proclaimed that Jesus was raised. Tiberius scoffed that a man rising from the dead was as likely as the egg in Mary's hand turning red, which it immediately did. Whereupon Mary preached the Good News to all the royal household.

There are many forces in the world, which try to compel you to make certain choices – advertisers, political spin doctors, angry preachers, dictators. But what does love compel you to do? Pray that the same compulsion, which gripped Mary's heart, may move your own.