When Mary Magdalen came to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body, she thought it had been taken away and so informed the disciples. After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text then says: “The disciples went back home,” and it adds: “but Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb.” We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found, and while she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him. For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth tell us: “Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved.”
Pope Saint Gregory the Great
When he wrote the above words I do not doubt that a cherished memory of his mother, later canonized as Saint Sylvia, flashed through the mind of the son to whom Saint Sylvia gave such a good example of faith in Christ.
That is a wonderful quote from a truly great Pope. Thank you for that – it made my morning.
St. Sylvia, pray for us.
Pope St. Gregory the Great, pray for us
Perseverance. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. We’ll need this virtue more than ever in the USA if the election is disastrous for the Rs and always for our Faith with Pope Francis, The Great Deceiver, sitting in Peter’s chair.
Speaking of perseverance we are spending our 42nd anniversary in Lafayette LA and visiting our youngest son. The Catholic Acadians aka Cajuns persevered when the English cast them out of Canada and they made the trek to hot, humid southern Louisiana. Being a special occasion my husband arranged for dance lessons on Friday to learn the Cajun two step and waltz. The next day early a.m. we travelled past rice fields to dance at Fred’s Lounge in Mamou. Open only on Saturdays 0730 – 2, (same hours for the bar) the dance music and local news in French patois was broadcast on the radio. Fun! Every little town we drove through seemed to have a Catholic church or a Marian shrine. At Mass in the cathedral yesterday it was obvious these Cajuns are people of great faith. On NOV 2nd the Mass for All Souls was a funeral Mass for unclaimed dead and those whose families could not afford burial. The coffins covered in black were lined up in the center aisle. Definitely a corporal work of mercy.