Mary Magdalene is called the Apostle to the Apostles because, after encountering the risen Christ outside the empty tomb, she "went and told the disciples" what she had seen and heard. She heard Christ Jesus call her by name and that opened her eyes and heart to the reality before her. Christ Jesus calls us each by name, but all too often, we are deaf to his calls.

I have a friend who, from time to time, shares "good words from the morning journal". Today he shared this message he had received from God:

"I wish you would pay attention to my guidance. Much more; to be Aware. My

spirit is with you always, yet you listen so rarely. How can you be my people if

you do not listen for my voice? That is my desire, that you listen much more."

Pay attention; be aware; listen. God must be pleased when we set aside a time and place to focus our attention on God's Word, on the Divine Presence. But when we, in the midst of our daily-life activities, pay attention to how the Holy One is at work in our lives and the lives of those around us, when we become aware of God's presence in the here and now, when we start to listen for God's word coming from unexpected sources, I suspect the Beloved is delighted--jumping for joy, as it were--that we are finally getting it. That's what, in the tradition, is called "Practicing the Presence of God". It's what enabled Mary Magdalene to say, "I have seen the Lord."

As we celebrate the resurrection of Christ Jesus today, may the eyes of all our hearts be open to see the Lord; may we come to pay attention, to be aware of the presence of the Risen Lord, and to listen more and more to his voice.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Pay attention! Be aware! Listen!