The psalmist proclaims how the steadfast love of God has
become his strength and salvation through times of distance from God in the
texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. The passage from the Acts of
the Apostles concludes the episode of the healing of the crippled man at the
Beautiful Gate of the Temple with the profession of the Apostles, Peter and
John, that they are compelled by what they have seen and known of Jesus to be
vocal witnesses to His Presence with them. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the
depth of this conviction which has compelled many believers in the history of
the Church to die as martyrs in proclamation of the power of their personal
relationship with Jesus. The scribe who added the longer ending to the Gospel
of Mark, which we read today, amalgamated the accounts of the other Gospels to
complete the details of the place of Mary Magdalene as the herald of Jesus resurrection
and the first to begin the mission of bringing the Good News of the fulfillment
of the Promise of God for a Messiah who is Lord. The struggle which may accompany
the presentation of the Good News is encountered at square one by Mary Magdalene
as her witness of Jesus raised from the dead is received with skepticism and
doubt. We are thankful the compulsion to be a faithful witness often overpowers
the tendency to keep our heads down.
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