Víctor Martell
(Conferencia Radio Paz, Miami - Estados Unidos)
Jesus is resurrected on Sunday and his first encounter is with Mary Magdalene; but be careful, it is not the prostitute who cleans his feet, nor Mary the sister of Lazarus, who also cleans his feet, it is Mary Magdalene, a wealthy woman who followed Jesus and helped him and the apostles with their money (Lk 8, 1-3), be very careful, because to follow Jesus we must strip ourselves of many things and among them the love of money and with it, help our church and those who have nothing and orders him to notify his brothers. It is precisely this woman who Saint John refers to in a beautiful and delicate narration of the appearance of Jesus after rising from the dead (Jn 20, 11-18).
And Mary runs to look for her brothers and tells Peter and John that she has seen Jesus, this is the resurrection, this real fact, it is what makes us different from other religions because our God is a living God, not a creator of a philosophy or religion, who is dead, the creator of Christianity, of our Catholic Church, is alive, he is with us and we are so happy, those who help the poor, that we can see his face, in each one of the who visit.
For this reason, the Vincentians, those who give alms, those who visit prisons, those who visit hospitals, those who visit nursing homes full of elderly people forgotten by their relatives, will only have the experience of seeing the Lord and announcing him to the poor, when we empty ourselves of the obsolete elements of human perception and penetrate within ourselves, to discover the risen Jesus, because first he has to rise again in our hearts so that we can then communicate him to everyone.
Let us ask in silence before the tomb and the empty cross, that Jesus give us the strength to follow in his footsteps and that we never leave the needy, because that will be the only way, one day not too far off, to be by his side forever. Amen.
