Alianza

“ ‘You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples’ ” (Mark 16:6-7).

Today, Christian communities the world over celebrate the feast of Mary of Magdala. This is one of my very favorite feast days, because Mary of Magdala was the first to proclaim that Jesus of Nazareth was raised from the dead. She announced the good news to Jesus’ disciples, who also came to know and believe that Jesus had conquered death and irrevocably changed the destiny of the human race and all creation. 

On this day seven years ago, with confidence in the risen Christ, I received the habit of the Capuchin order at San Lorenzo Seminary in Santa Ynez, Calif., with 23 other men. Investiture marked the formal beginning of my religious life as a Capuchin Franciscan friar, although I had already lived for a year with the friars during my postulancy in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Victoria, Kan. I would make my first profession of vows nearly a year later, on July 20, 2013, and my perpetual profession of vows on Oct. 1, 2016. But on that feast of Mary of Magdala seven years ago, I felt like I had made a covenant with God in Christ’s name through the Holy Spirit, in the presence of the brothers. 

To this day, it is my Capuchin brothers who remain special witnesses to that covenant. And that covenant is to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ with abandon in this world, and to consent to be brought by grace forward into the reign of God breaking into and confounding this world. I hope my brothers will continue to support me and help me fulfill that covenant as I understand it. They know as well as anyone what it means to leave everything behind to follow Jesus. With their help and God’s, I will indeed render all things back to God one day. May it please God to keep our Capuchin fraternities strong in a spirit of brotherly love. 

But to live the Gospel is to be open to help from every source of grace. The Capuchins are but one of many lifelines. There is the communion of saints, living here today and living in the realm of eternity. I depend on the exemplary witness and way of life of Mary of Magdala to strengthen me and show me how to proclaim the good news of resurrection life in this world today. I ask God through Mary for the extraordinary grace of knowing the presence of the risen Christ in my own life. And I give thanks to God for the many Magdala-like figures in my life, the vulnerable but strong women who have befriended me and show me, in their own way, how God is changing everything through Jesus Christ. These sisters in the Spirit, these friends of God and prophets in their own right, are my dearest friends in this world. 

Today began the second half of the current term of classes at Maryknoll. Profesoras Liliana and Viviana are my final teaching team. They will carry me through the final three weeks to the end of my studies here. I am delighted to be benefiting once more from their creativity, good cheer, and spirit of playfulness in the classroom. We are continuing to study El Salvador and the subjunctive. We are going to work in a lot of extemporaneous conversation so that I can learn to express my opinion on controversial topics and controverted viewpoints. For the thousandth time: O God, open my lips! Bid the Spirit give me the words to speak.