“Today I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything.” (Pope Benedict XVI).
When I was quite young, my parents took my siblings and I for a walk around Flemington Markets one Sunday afternoon. Now, I never really enjoyed going to the markets when I was a little girl, and not much has changed in the years since, but my parents found it very interesting to wander around and have a look at all the different things that people were selling. They liked the atmosphere, and the people and the whole experience.
On this particular occasion, when we were at the Markets, I was in my mid-teens, and I just happened to volunteer to push my youngest little brother around in his stroller while we wandered through the crowd…
Now, in those days (and possibly still today) a Sunday afternoon at Flemington Markets was peak-time with hundreds of people wandering around at any one time…
And that particular day was no exception. And because I was completely uninterested in what my parents and siblings were looking at, I sort of hung back and looked at other things while I was waiting for them to finish at one store or another.
There was only one problem with this particular strategy, and the problem was that I very quickly became very very lost. One moment I could see the whole family in the periphery of my vision, and in the next, I had no idea what direction they had wandered off in.
And in those days – before I ever carried a mobile phone or before mobile phones had enough battery charge or mobile phone reception to be of any use to anyone on a Sunday afternoon – getting lost in a place like Flemington Markets was a very frightening affair.
You see, I had no idea what direction anyone had travelled in and so I had no idea what direction I should take to find them. And so, I began wandering the aisles of the Market up and down over and over, retracing my steps, looking for my family, all while pushing that placid little boy in his stroller…
Finally, after I was completely and well-and-truly lost with no sense of direction left, I heard on the loud speaker and announcement for me to go to the Information desk at a certain aisle of the Market. And so – without further delay – I made my way to the desk and found my entire family waiting there for my (and my brother’s) return…
And I have been reflecting on that experience today because it reminds me of when Saint Mary Magdalene failed to recognise the Resurrected Christ and instead saw Him as the Gardener… “So the women departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, ‘Hail!’ And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.’” (Matthew 28:8-15).
And I have been reflecting on why she was mistaken. You see, it occurs to me that she was mistaken for much the same reason that I was mistaken in becoming more and more lost that day… She was afraid. And the more afraid she became, the more confounded she became. And just as I became increasingly lost that day as I became increasingly afraid, so too, did Mary Magdalene become increasingly afraid and increasingly confounded…
And in light of this realisation, I follow the advice of Pope Saint John Paul II who said, “I plead with you - never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Do not be afraid... Do not be afraid to become the saints of the new millennium!” For as the Late Pope Benedict XVI (may God rest his soul) said, “Today I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything.”
For knowing that, I truly understand that I have nothing at all to fear…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.